{"id":3618,"date":"2022-04-04T14:47:08","date_gmt":"2022-04-04T18:47:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ziprecruiter.com\/blog\/?p=36367"},"modified":"2022-04-04T14:47:08","modified_gmt":"2022-04-04T18:47:08","slug":"march-jobs-report-reaction-blockbuster-job-growth-the-great-return-and-return-to-the-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/jerome1greene.x10host.com\/wp\/march-jobs-report-reaction-blockbuster-job-growth-the-great-return-and-return-to-the-office\/","title":{"rendered":"March Jobs Report Reaction: Blockbuster Job Growth, the Great Return, and Return to the Office"},"content":{"rendered":"

The four big stories in last week’s jobs report<\/a> are continued blockbuster job growth, the accelerating return to work, a rapid return to the office, and soaring wage growth for non-managerial employees. <\/p>\n

Sustained Blockbuster Job Growth<\/h2>\n

The economy created 431k jobs in March and the unemployment rate fell to just 3.6%, as labor market conditions improved between mid-February and mid-March. That marks 11 straight months of job growth above 400k per month. Already-high figures for January and February were revised upwards by a combined 95k. That makes February\u2019s gain of 750k the largest since 2020. If the current pace of job growth is sustained, we\u2019ll be back to pre-pandemic employment levels in just 3-4 months. <\/p>\n

Robust job growth reflects improving pandemic conditions and increased mobility. Covid cases fell<\/a> 80%, air travel rose<\/a> 30%, and restaurant dining soared back to 2019 levels from a 20-point deficit. The increase in customers streaming through business doors drove up demand for labor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A Healthy Return to the Labor Force<\/h2>\n

The labor force expanded by 418k people as the Great Return to the labor force picked up steam. The labor force has swelled by almost 3 million in just the past 6 months. Among prime-age employees\u2014the core of the labor force which excludes retirees and students\u2014participation has almost fully recovered. The labor force overall is only down 0.1%, and the prime-age labor force has actually fully recovered and is now up 0.4% compared with pre-pandemic levels. Easing labor supply constraints bodes well for job growth in the coming months. <\/p>\n

The increase in the number of women in the workforce is particularly encouraging. Women\u2019s careers have been most severely disrupted during the pandemic, both due to the industry composition of job losses and due to the pandemic\u2019s effects on childcare and schooling. The large 324k-increase in female labor force participation suggests that women may finally be able to resume their careers and get back on the promotion ladder.<\/p>\n