US Employers Add 916,000 Jobs in March as Hiring Accelerates

MIAMI, FL – JUNE 01: A “help wanted” sign hangs on a window of a restaurant on June 1, 2018 in Miami, Florida. The U.S. economy gained a stronger-than-expected 223,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate edged down to an 18-year low. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) – America’s employers unleashed a burst of hiring in March, adding 916,000 jobs in a sign that a sustained recovery from the pandemic recession is taking hold as vaccinations accelerate, stimulus checks flow through the economy and businesses increasingly reopen.

The March increase – the most since August – was nearly double February’s gain of 468,000, the Labor Department said Friday. The unemployment rate declined from 6.2% to 6%.

Meantime, on Thursday, first time jobless claims ticked up last week. The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose by 61,000 last week to 719,000, signaling that many employers are still cutting jobs even as more businesses reopen, vaccines are increasingly administered and federal aid spreads through the economy.