U.S. has added more jobs than thought

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- The U.S. economy added 386,000 more jobs than previously estimated between April 2011 and March 2012, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said it had initially undercounted job growth, and the latest report indicates BLS preliminary job reports during the period were underreported by an average of 32,000 jobs per month, The Hill said.

The development means President Barack Obama may now claim the economy had a net gain of jobs since he took office in January 2009, Forbes reported.

Forbes said the development deprives the campaign of Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney of one of its arguments -- that the economy has lost jobs under Obama.

Alan Krueger, the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, wrote in a blog post that the revised numbers suggest the recession that began in 2007 was deeper than previously thought and "the jobs recovery over the last 2.5 years has been a bit stronger than initially reported."

The BLS report was issued the same day the Labor Department reported new claims for unemployment benefits fell by 26,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 359,000, the best showing in two months.

Many economists believe a total of 375,000 first-time claims for unemployment is an indicator the unemployment rate is coming down, Forbes said.