Hiring across the U.S. surged last month as the economy continued to recover from a labor market slowdown caused by the COVID-19 Omicron variant.
Payrolls grew by 678,000 in February, the Labor Department reported on Friday, exceeding analyst forecasts of around 440,000 jobs. That’s an increase of 200,000 from the previous month and the strongest month for hiring since October of last year. The unemployment rate fell to 3.8% as more workers found jobs. That is the lowest jobless rate since February of 2020 just before pandemic took hold in the U.S.
“There’s very strong levels of demand for workers,” Nick Bunker, head of research at the Indeed Hiring Lab, told CBS MoneyWatch.
The gains were broad-based. Leisure and hospitality companies added about 180,000 jobs as restaurants and bars continued to reopen. Professional and business services firm added 95,000. Construction and health care businesses each added about 60,000 jobs, while the transportation and warehousing sector added nearly 50,000.
The strong report adds to signs of a broad recovery from the economic swoon caused by the coronavirus. Consumer spending has risen, spurred by higher wages and savings. Restaurant traffic has jumped to pre-pandemic levels, hotel reservations are up and far more Americans traveling.
Despite that rebound, economists warn that fierce inflation, soaring oil prices and a shift in monetary policy, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, could soon dampen hiring.
The Federal Reserve is expected to start raising interest rates later this month it seeks to tamp inflation, which has hit its highest level in 40 years.
The latest signs of robust job growth are also based on data collected in mid-February, before Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine. It’s uncertain how the conflict will affect U.S. hiring, but economists warn that rising oil and prices and ongoing disruptions to global supply chains could crimp job growth in the months ahead.
This is a developing story. The Associated Press contributed reporting.
