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In another sign that the recovery in the U.S. economy is taking hold, employers added significantly more jobs to payrolls in April, according to a government report released Friday.

There was a gain of 290,000 jobs in the month, up from a revised 230,000 jobs added in March. It was the largest number of jobs added to the labor force since March 2006.

The results were much better than expected. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast a gain of 187,000 jobs.

In another sign that the recovery in the U.S. economy is taking hold, employers added significantly more jobs to payrolls in April, according to a government report released Friday.

There was a gain of 290,000 jobs in the month, up from a revised 230,000 jobs added in March. It was the largest number of jobs added to the labor force since March 2006.

The results were much better than expected. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast a gain of 187,000 jobs.

Manufacturing did exceptionally well, adding 44,000 jobs, the biggest one-month gain in the sector since August 1998. Construction added 14,000 jobs, the second straight month of gains after nearly three years of uninterrupted job losses in that battered sector.

Retailers added 12,400 jobs, and the leisure and hospitality industries added 45,000 jobs on a seasonally adjusted reading, a sign that employers in those sectors see increased consumer demand.

Temporary help services added 26,200 jobs, which economists see as an important sign of future hiring, since employers often take on temporary workers before they add permanent staff. Temp workers have now increased by 330,000 over the last seven months after roughly three straight years of job losses there.

Looking ahead: Still, the gain in jobs this year has barely made a dent in the 8.4 million jobs that were lost in 2008 and 2009. And the 15.3 million unemployed workers are suffering a great deal. A record 46% have been out of work six months or longer.

The so-called underemployment rate, which includes workers who are discouraged and those who are working part-time jobs because they can't find full-time work, rose to 17.1%, the highest level in the 17 years that figure has been calculated.

"This week's job numbers comes as a relief to Americans who found a job," President Obama said in remarks Friday morning. "But it offers obviously little comfort to those who are still out of work."

He pledged to take additional steps to help businesses hire workers.

Republican critics of the administration focused on the unemployment rate rather than gain in payrolls.

"Positive job growth is always welcome news, but this rising and painfully high unemployment rate is a far cry from President Obama's promise that the trillion-dollar 'stimulus' would keep joblessness from rising above 8%," said House Minority Leader John Boehner in a statement.

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