US adds nearly a million jobs as economy kicks into higher gear
US employers added nearly a million additional jobs in March as the world’s largest economy continued its recovery.
The 916,000 jobs added represent 500,000 more than in February, with the unemployment rate falling from 6.2 per cent to 6 per cent.
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Employers have been bouyed by a rise in consumer confidence, the loosening of lockdown restrictions across the country and President Joe Biden’s aggressive pump-priming of the economy.
Analysts expect these figures to grow as the country gradually unlocks.
Though some states, such as Texas, have all but declared the pandemic is over, a number of others – including economic powerhouses New York and California – are still far from normality.
US unemployment peaked at around 15 per cent in April of last year. Unlike most western economies, then-President Trump elected to allow people to lose their jobs, but did expand benefits.
Most other major economies instituted some form of state-backed furlough scheme to minimise job losses.