March jobs report good for workers hit hardest by pandemic

There was good news in almost every part of the March jobs report this morning — particularly about workers who were most impacted by the pandemic.

Details: The unemployment rate held steady or fell for every demographic group (race, ethnicity, gender) compared to February.

• Women, for the second month in a row, gained a significant portion of new jobs.
• The unemployment rate for Black women 20-years and older fell.
• The unemployment rate fell for workers 55 and older too.
• The number of people who said they were unable to work because their employer closed or lost business fell by 40% — from 4.2 million in February to 2.5 million last month.

Sectors to watch: Compared to last year, unemployment rates have fallen significantly in services (leisure, hospitality, retail) as the economy reopened.

• The 0il and gas industry notably staged a bounceback from pandemic low production, with business activity jumping to its highest reading in the six-year history of a Dallas Fed Energy Survey.