Job growth boomed in March with a surge in hospitality and construction hiring, the Labor Department reported Friday. Non-farm payrolls increased by a surprising 916,000 for the month—the highest since 1.58 million jobs were added in August 2020 and way ahead of a predicted figure of 675,000—sending the unemployment rate down to 6 percent. Leisure and hospitality, a sector critical to restoring the jobs market, and particularly responsive to America’s aggressive vaccination campaign, showed the strongest gains for the month, with 280,000 new jobs. Bars and restaurants added 176,000 while arts, entertainment and recreation contributed 64,000 to the total. There remains some way to go, however, to recoup all the losses of the pandemic; there are still nearly 5 million fewer Americans employed than there were a year ago.
