Nearly 17,000 of the 67,000 additional private-sector jobs were also temporary, as employers continue to hedge their bets.
Among those 17,000 was Patricia Ward, an unemployed office manager who found work last month through a temporary staffing agency.
"There aren't enough jobs for the people who need them," said Ward, of Abington Township.
Ward is part of a wave of 700 new hires who will work at the Corporate Call Center Inc. in Blue Bell answering questions about Medicare during the fourth quarter.
The workers received training to qualify for an insurance-selling license, company president Frank Pettinato said. Those who passed the test were reimbursed for their training. Pettinato said he expected that most of the jobs would end in December, but at least the employees will have a license they can use elsewhere.
Wall Street responded positively to the report, which beat some forecasts. The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 127.83 points, its fourth straight day of gains.
The slight increase in the unemployment rate from 9.5 percent to 9.6 percent is actually good news because it reflects increased worker confidence in the job market. About 550,000 who had been sitting on the sidelines decided to look for work.
Most economists say the nation's businesses must create 120,000 to 150,000 jobs a month simply to accommodate the natural growth of the labor force due to increases in population and immigration.
Although payrolls have increased by 723,000 jobs since December, it would take years of sustained job growth, at 300,000 to 400,000 jobs a month, to begin to recapture the 8.4 million lost during the recession, which began in December 2007.
"Economic growth remains fragile," said Paul Ashworth, an economist at Capital Economics.
