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Business and Economic News
Scott Horsley, NPR

Employers add 916,000 jobs as economy emerges from winter slump

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A store in Miami displays a "We are hiring" sign on March 5. U.S. employers added 916,000 jobs in March, the biggest number since August, amid an improving pandemic outlook and trillions of dollars in stimulus passed by Congress.
A store in Miami displays a "We are hiring" sign on March 5. Job gains accelerated in March amid signs of an economic recovery.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images

Hiring accelerated last month as U.S. employers added 916,000 workers to their payrolls. It was the largest job gain since August, fueled in part by an improving public health outlook and a new round of $1,400 relief payments.

The unemployment rate dropped to 6 percent, from 6.2 percent in February.

Job growth has improved in each of the last three months, after a winter surge of coronavirus infections brought hiring to a standstill in December.

"The labor market recovery has awakened from its winter slump," said Nela Richardson, chief economist at the payroll processor ADP.

Over the last year, bars and restaurants have been particularly sensitive to the ups and downs of the pandemic. Those businesses added 176,000 workers in March.

"The weather is getting better. People want to get out. They're enjoying themselves more than they did before," said Ray Sandza, vice president of data and analytics for Homebase, which provides payroll software to restaurants and others small businesses. "Businesses can see the corner rounding, so they're willing to bring more people on."

Forecasters expect the job gains to continue, provided a recent uptick in coronavirus cases doesn't erupt into a full-blown wave.

"It's just very important that we continue to be diligent when it comes to public health, so that we don't have to risk either lockdowns again, or frankly just people being scared to go outside," Sandza said.

Coronavirus vaccinations have ramped up rapidly, with an average of 2.9 million shots given daily over the last week. But new infections are also climbing again, after falling sharply in February and early March.

"It's almost like a race to try to get the maximum number of people vaccinated before the virus has a chance to mutate into something that we can't handle," said Raphael Bostic, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.