Hiring Booms as Jobs Report Exceeds Expectations

Analysts expected a strong jobs report, and the Labor Department delivered. Employers went on a hiring binge in March, and they're expected to continue for the near future. The highlights:

• A big number: Employers added 916,000 jobs last month, reports the AP, well above expectations of about 675,000. It's the biggest gain since August and a sign that the pace of recovery from the pandemic is quickening, reports the Washington Post.
• Unemployment rate: It fell from 6.2% to 6%.

• More to come? “I think March is going to be the first one of a string of very strong numbers," Shawn Snyder of Citi US Wealth Management tells CNBC. “It’s not as strong as what we’re going to see in April and May. I think we could see a string of three or four months where we average over 1 million jobs." Economist Beth Ann Bovino of S&P Global tells the Wall Street Journal that "there's a seismic shift going on in the US economy."
• Key industries: The leisure and hospitality sector led the way with 280,000 new hires. Bars and restaurants in particular added 176,000 new workers.
• Context: Even with the robust number, the US still has about 8 million fewer jobs than before the pandemic, notes the AP.

(More unemployment stories.)