The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 3.8% with the number people on nonfarm payrolls increasing by nearly 6.7 million in a year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today.
In February, more than 150 million people were employed in nonfarm jobs compared to February 2021 when nearly 144 million people were counted as employed, BLS spokesperson Stacy Standish said. Prior to Covid-19 BLS reported more than 152 million people were employed.
The number of people unemployed last month was 6.3 million, down from February 2021’s number of about 10 million, Standish said.
“Nonfarm payrolls grew by a strong 678,000 in February,” said First American Financial Economist Odeta Kushi. “That means that over 90% of the jobs lost at the start of the pandemic have been recouped.
“If monthly gains continue to increase at this pace, we could return to the pre-Covid employment peak by June 2022,” she added.
“The usual expected job growth number is around 200,000 but this month was over triple that, so more people are filling millions of job openings,” Dartmouth University Economist Elisabeth Curtis said. “This (report) is the shining spot in the U.S. economy as the labor market continues to strengthen.”
Despite the higher number of people employed, there continue to be more jobs than people to fill them, with the BLS reporting that 10.9 million jobs remained unfilled.
“December’s JOLTS (Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey) report showed job openings exceeded total hires by 4.66 million, a record high and an indication that demand for workers continues to outpace supply,” Kushi said.
“With women, those still worried about getting Covid-19, and some workers in Covid-sensitive sectors not yet returning to work, this continues to be a drag on labor market recovery,” Curtis said. “And with 2 million or so early retirees, there’s still a question about whether some or any of these people will come back to work.
“But the signs are strong generally that people are getting jobs and the economy is growing,” she added.
Sixty-thousand jobs were added to the construction industry in February, the BLS report said.
“Residential building construction employment rose by 6,700 in February,” said Kushi. “The rise is positive news for an industry that has been grappling with chronic labor shortages. We need more homes built and, in such a labor-intensive industry, you need more workers to build more homes.”
