Jobless Numbers Look Good; Analysts Say ‘Not So Fast’

The government says our nation’s economy created the largest number of jobs last month since the recession began.

New numbers out on Friday show employers added 162,000 jobs in March, but that’s still fewer than analysts expected.

Some say the results are also inflated because of as many as 48,000 temporary jobs were created for the 2010 Census. Also, more Americans said they were working part-time even though they’d prefer to have full-time work.

The unemployment rate remained at 9.7% for the third straight month, nationally.

Here in the Coachella Valley, the jobless rate grew in each city.

Bermuda Dunes – 7%, up from 5.5%

Cathedral City – 14.6%, up from 12.3%

Coachella – 23.1%, up from 19.8%

Desert Hot Springs – 20.8%, up from 16.8%

Indian Wells – 5.4%, up from 4.4%

Indio – 16.1%, up from 13.6%

La Quinta – 7.9%, up from 6.6%

Mecca – 28.6%, up from 23.7%

Palm Desert – 9%, up from 7.5%

Palm Springs – 11.7%, up from 9.8%

Rancho Mirage – 13.3%, up from 11.1%

Thousand Palms – 10.5%, up from 8.1%

Numbers are from the California Employment Development Department