WASHINGTON (Fox News): The U.S. economy added 266,000 jobs in April, sharply missing economists’ expectations.

The unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 6.1% — well below the April 2020 peak of 14.7%, but about twice the pre-crisis level, the Labor Department said in its monthly payroll report released Friday morning.

Economists surveyed by Refinitiv expected the report to show that unemployment fell to 5.8% and the economy added 978,000 jobs.