The national unemployment rate hit 9.9% in April despite (relatively) better job creation numbers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says we actually added 290,000 jobs last month, though that includes 66,000 Census jobs which will disappear — sending workers back on the unemployment line — once the survey is completed.

Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 290,000 in April, the unemployment rate edged up to 9.9 percent, and the labor force increased sharply, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in manufacturing, professional and business services, health care, and leisure and hospitality. Federal government employment also rose, reflecting continued hiring of temporary workers for Census 2010.

That part bothers me. Those are not long-term jobs. They’ll disappear soon, and a drop in job creation of 66,000 is quite significant. And again, none of this includes the workers who left the workforce over the recession and never returned, eliminating household income and spending power.

In fact, there are two million fewer workers in the workforce today compared to the same time last year. Even with today’s job creation numbers, we’ve lost millions of jobs since the passage of the $825 billion stimulus package, which was supposed to create — not lose — millions of jobs.

Update: Barack Obama personally promised that unemployment wouldn’t rise above 8% thanks to his stimulus package. More than a year later, we’re at 9.9%. Again.