Nearly 1 Million Jobs Added In March A Positive Sign For Recovery

The Department of Labor said nearly 1 million jobs were added in March, a sign that the economy may be on track to recover from the pandemic’s blow. Even with the month nearly doubling February’s gains, things are a long way from business as normal, the Associated Press reports.

In total, March saw over 916,000 jobs created. The progress dropped the unemployment rate from 6.2% to 6%.

Gains were especially noteworthy in the finance and tech sectors, areas that businesses typically only invest in when they feel confident in sustained growth.

Manufacturing showed the most growth in almost four decades. Construction companies, freed from February’s severe storms, and the service industries most injured by the pandemic added 110,000 positions.

Still, there’s a long way to go. At current rates, more than a year will be needed to recover the 11.5 million jobs lost. The expected 6.5% growth rate would deliver between 7 and 10 million jobs through the rest of 2021.

The damage of the pandemic was distributed unevenly. Minorities were hit hardest, with women disproportionately likely to drop out of the workforce. While 500,000 returned last month, they’ve got a larger hole to climb out of.

Experts say that some of the service positions lost won’t be coming back at all. Many of the people still left unemployed have been out of work for months, greatly lowering their chances of finding a job. It’s unclear whether March’s spiking employment numbers will continue in the coming months.

Lawmakers are already trying to use the new information to argue for or against Joe Biden’s massive infrastructure proposal. Republicans say it’s evidence that the economy is going strong and doesn’t need any more stimulus, but Biden insists spending is necessary to keep momentum.

“The fight’s far from over,” Biden said. “The progress we’ve worked so hard to achieve can be reversed.”