Research Brief: Employment – April 2021

Accelerating reopening bolsters hiring. Job creation soared to a seven-month high of 916,000 in March as easing business restrictions and broadening vaccination availability alleviated barriers to travel, dining and shopping. Hiring last month was led by the leisure and hospitality sector with 280,000 personnel, followed by a combined 190,000 roles in public and private education, fields heavily impaired by forced closures. This robust recruiting helped lower the unemployment rate to 6.0 percent, less than half the pandemic peak. The rate is nevertheless 2.5 percentage points above the February 2020 watermark, reiterating the significant labor market recovery still ahead.

Download