The U.S. department of Labor has released the April job numbers and the growth is much better as the economy added 290,000 jobs, even though the overall unemployment rate increased to 9.9% from 9.7%.  This can be explained by the large number of people who had given up looking for work looking once again as the economy improves.

Jobs rose in various industries including manufacturing, professional and business services, health care, and leisure and hospitality.  When you break down further as to what groups are being hired, it appears that whites have benefited the most from recent hiring, while adult men, women, teenagers, blacks, and Hispanics saw no change.

Take a look at the original report here.

UPDATE: President Obama spoke to the press about April's job growth, saying that he is encouraged by the numbers, but that it would be some time yet for a full recovery.  He stated that he judges the health of the economy by the number of jobs and outlined the steps his administration has taken to encourage private sector jobs growth like his green economy initiative.

Watch his remarks below: