America's return to the office is finally happening, and it'll help small businesses boom, Biden's labor secretary says

• February saw a jobs boom for the US, with the country adding more payrolls than forecast.
• It also marked a fall in the share of workers teleworking and COVID closing their workplaces.

In February, Americans began to head back into the office — and it might lead to a boom for the in-person economy.

February was a big month for job growth, according to the latest data release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The country added 678,000 jobs, well above the median forecast of 440,000 jobs from economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

February also marked a potential turn in the tide for how people are working: The percentage of people teleworking because of COVID-19 fell from 15.4% in January to 13% in February. The number of people who said they couldn't work because their employer had closed or lost business because of the pandemic also fell dramatically, from 6 million in January to 4.2 million in February.

That return to the office might mean more than just packed trains. According to Biden's Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh, it could also provide a boost to business.

"I mean, you think about cities and towns across America that people have been working from home, coffee shops and sub shops and retail shops either went out of business or had to shut their business for a period of time," Walsh told Insider. "This is going to continue to add to job creation and job growth as well, and it's good."

Indeed, February saw big gains in the number of jobs added in traditionally in-person industries. Leisure and hospitality continued to lead the way for recovery, with food services and drinking places alone adding 124,000 payrolls. Arts, entertainment, and recreation added 28,000 jobs; personal and laundry services added 8,600.

And, in February, 1.2 million people said they were prevented from looking for work because of the pandemic — a slide down from 1.8 million people in January.

"We've also, as Americans, have learned to deal and live and cope with the coronavirus, and I think that that's another strong message as we move forward," Walsh said. "I'm still going to encourage people to get vaccinated. I think that's important as we move forward here as well."