The blowout March jobs report was powered by new employment in restaurants, schools, and construction
- Sectors with the strongest job gains in March signal reopening will fuel a swift economic rebound.
- Leisure and hospitality businesses counted for one-third of last month's gain of 916,000 payrolls.
- Hiring in the government and construction sectors improved significantly from the prior month.
The sectors that added the most jobs in March hint at just how much the economic reopening might revitalize the US labor market.
Businesses added 916,000 nonfarm payrolls last month, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data published Friday morning. The reading handily beat the median estimate of 660,000 payroll additions from economists surveyed by Bloomberg, and signaled that partial reopening, improved vaccination, and new stimulus fueled a strong uptick in hiring.
Job additions were also more evenly spread in March than in the month prior. While February saw leisure and hospitality businesses drive nearly all of the month's gains, the sector counted for roughly one-third of the March upswing.
Public-sector hiring served as the second-largest source of job additions with 136,000 new jobs, suggesting state and local governments aren't facing the same stagnant recoveries they endured after the financial crisis.
Job growth in the construction sector also rebounded after harsh winter storms led payrolls to shrink in February.
The utilities industry saw the smallest gain, while information businesses shed 2,000 payrolls through the month.
Here are the sectors that added the most jobs in March.