US labor market upside down surprised again In February, the service sectors of the economy driven by continued strength.
The leisure and hospitality sector added 105,000 jobs last month Labour DepartmentAccounting for nearly a third of the total 311,000 job gains.
The health care and social assistance segment was another big contributor, adding nearly 63,000 jobs.
Leisure and hospitality has consistently been one of the strongest sectors as the US economy has recovered from the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw the closure of vast numbers of bars and restaurants across the country. Food and beverage businesses added 70,000 jobs last month.
However, according to the Department of Labor, the sector is still 2.4% below its pre-pandemic employment level.
“We’re still short,” said Steve Rick, chief economist at Kuna Mutual Group. “We still don’t have the same number of people working in hotels and restaurants as we did in 2019. So we’re still adding jobs in those areas at a very rapid pace.”
However, there are some weaknesses in other parts of the economy. A decline of 25,000 jobs in information technology reflected the impact of layoffs at tech companies, while transportation and manufacturing jobs also retreated.
Transportation and warehousing jobs are down 42,000 since October, according to the Labor Department.
“We are seeing a split of the economy between the goods and services sector,” Rick said.