The number of jobs in the US jumped by 916,000 in March to a total of 150.8 million while the number of temp jobs edged down slightly, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
Despite the gain, total jobs were still down by approximately 8.4 million from its pre-pandemic peak in February 2020.
However, temporary help services jobs were essentially unchanged, falling by approximately 800 to a total of 2.77 million. They also remain down from their March 2020 level. The temp penetration rate — temporary jobs as a percent of total employment — fell to 1.92% in March from 1.93% in February.
“Consistent with early stages of an expansion in the business cycle, temporary staffing had been posting large gains for several months, outpacing the gains in total nonfarm employment on a percentage basis,” SIA Research Director Tony Gregoire said. “Last month saw a reversal of that trend, with temporary staffing slightly down and large gains in total nonfarm employment. A couple more months of data should tell us whether or not the reversal from last month was a one-off.”
The BLS noted job growth was widespread in March with the largest gains occurring in leisure and hospitality, public and private education, and construction. Employment in leisure and hospitality rose by 280,000.
“America’s economic recovery is reaching a turning point as the hardest hit industries, like hospitality, are starting to reaccelerate hiring while the industries that have fared well throughout the pandemic, like manufacturing and technology, continue to demonstrate consistent demand for workers,” said Karen Fichuk, CEO of Randstad North America and Randstad nv executive board member.
Fichuk said the quantity of open full-time roles is the largest her company has seen in 24 months and is up 38% from the fourth quarter of 2020.
In addition to the new jobs, the US unemployment rate fell to 6.0% in March from 6.2% in February. It had been 4.4% in March 2020.
The college-level unemployment rate fell to 3.7% in March from 3.8% in February.
