The U.S. economy added 266,000 jobs in April and the unemployment rate rose to 6.1 percent, an unexpectedly poor showing falling well below expectations.

The meager showing exposed unexpected gaps in a recovery that some economists were fretting would "overheat" by recovering too quickly.

"For those who feared the US economy would overheat, the bigger risk may be that it is undercooked," said The Atlantic Council's Josh Lipsky.

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"Today’s report shows there won’t be an overnight fix for millions who remain unemployed. The U.S. economy still has a long way to go in its recovery."

Economists were expecting roughly a million new jobs in the April report and a drop in the unemployment rate. Some firms had projected increases as high as 1.3 million.

Even March's blockbuster figure was revised downward by some 16 percent, to 770,000 from 916,000. Read more at The Hill