US adds 678,000 jobs in February amid pandemic recovery

US adds 678,000 jobs in February amid pandemic recovery

NNA - The US economy saw a hiring surge in February, the government reported Friday, edging the jobless rate closer to the pre-pandemic level as hard hit sectors recover from the impact of Covid-19.

American employers added 678,000 workers to their payrolls last month, driving the unemployment rate down to 3.8 percent, the Labor Department reported.

The report is good news for President Joe Biden, who has highlighted the strong economic recovery even as inflation has accelerated and undermined his approval rating.

And inflation could accelerate further as oil prices jump following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The surge in hiring last month far surpassed the consensus forecast, although some economists were calling for a big increase as the world's largest economy gets back on track.

As the Omicron variant wave has faded and local authorities lift mask restrictions, bars and restaurants have reopened and Americans have started traveling more.

"The February jobs report showed an economy moving powerfully past the pandemic," said. Robert Frick, corporate economist at Navy Federal Credit Union.

He pointed to the advances "in sectors beaten down by the pandemic... that show Americans getting back to normal spending patterns."

Job gains were widespread, led by the 179,000 new jobs in the leisure and hospitality sector that