US economy adds 916,000 jobs as COVID recovery gains steam

The US economy added 916,000 jobs in March — a stronger-than-expected gain adding fuel to the labor market’s accelerating recovery from the coronavirus crisis, the feds said Friday.

The strongest job growth since August came as more Americans got vaccinated against the deadly virus while businesses continued to emerge from the winter’s pandemic lockdowns. The nonfarm payroll gain marked a robust bounce from February’s revised total of 468,000 and shattered economists’ expectations for 635,000.