Strong job growth points to COVID’s fading grip on economy

Washington, March 4 (BNA): American companies ramped up hiring last month as Omicron faded and more Americans ventured to spend in restaurants, shops and hotels despite rising inflation.

Employers added 678,000 jobs in February, the largest monthly total since July, the Labor Department reported Friday. The Associated Press (AP) reported that the unemployment rate fell to 3.8% from 4% in January, continuing a sharp decline in unemployment to its lowest level since before the outbreak of the pandemic two years ago.

However, February employment data suggests that two years after COVID-19 shut down the country and lost 22 million jobs, the disease has lost its grip on the US economy. More people are taking jobs or looking for work — a trend that, if it continues, will help alleviate the labor shortage that has confused employers over the past year.

In addition, there are fewer people now working remotely due to illness. The constant influx of people into offices can boost employment in urban areas in the city center. The number of Americans delaying job searches for fear of illness fell sharply from January, when Omicron was raging, to February.

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