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Leisure & Hospitality employment continues to grow but remains the only sector still below its pre-pandemic employment level. The labor market has been running hot for several months; but it is uncertain when increasing wage gains are going to have a dampening effect on employment.
March employment continued its record streak of growing by more than 400,000 jobs per month since May 2021. At this pace jobs should return to their February 2020 total in four months.
Employment in the U.S. rose by 678,000 jobs, led by growth in the Leisure and Hospitality sector.
The January employment figures along with the revisions in December and November portray a labor market that is healthier than thought on first examination.
Different performances between surveys as of late may be revealing how the U.S. labor force is shifting during the pandemic recovery.
While the Covid-19 Omicron variant appears to produce milder symptoms, its high rate of transmissibility will have a dampening effect on job creation.
A welcome change from the previous two months, the expected job growth acceleration was somewhat higher than forecast by multiple outlets.
U.S. employment rose by 194,000 jobs in September while the unemployment rate dropped to 4.8%.
In September, we predict job growth of 461,000 jobs.
August's results are disappointing and appear to be chiefly driven by the spread of the Covid-19 delta variant.
While the results are impressive, hurdles lie ahead with the Covid-19 variant leading some states and localities to reinstate some restrictions on activity.
The June labor market report will come as a relief to many after earlier lackluster growth, yet the U.S. employment level remains below its February 2020 total. Job creation was most pronounced in Leisure & Hospitality even as restaurants and hotels struggle to fill job openings.
While strong job growth in March indicated the job market was about to take off, the last two months have had disappointing outcomes.
Job market gains came from a strong performance in the Leisure & Hospitality sector in February that totaled 355,000 new jobs, an encouraging sign for the most beleaguered sector since the onset of the pandemic.