Tough U.S. jobs report shows Biden’s rocky road to full economic recovery

President Joe Biden reacted on Friday to a disappointing April jobs report by saying the U.S. economy has a “long way to go” before recovering from its pandemic slump, and he urged Washington to do more to help the American people.

U.S. job growth unexpectedly slowed last month, likely restrained by shortages of workers and raw materials. Nonfarm payrolls increased by only 266,000 jobs, well below the nearly 1 million jobs economists expected and a sharp contrast to steady increases in growth from January to March.

Biden and his team have said his $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package, the Democratic president's first major legislative accomplishment, is helping to bring the economy back from its pandemic plummet, and they are pushing for another $4 trillion in new investments.

"Today's report just underscores in my view how vital the actions we're taking are," Biden said in remarks at the White House. "Our efforts are starting to work. But the climb is steep and we still have a long way to go."