US jobs rise again as firms raise wages to woo staff

US employers added 431,000 jobs last month as the American economy continued to rebound from the shock of the coronavirus pandemic.

The figures from the Labor Department marked the 15th month in a row of job gains and helped to push the unemployment rate down to 3.6%.

Bars, restaurants and hotels were among the businesses leading the hiring last month.

The US has now regained nearly all the jobs lost since the pandemic hit.

Faced with the tight labour market, businesses are paying more to woo workers.

The average weekly wage in March was up 5.6% from a year ago, the Labor Department said. However, those gains continue to lag inflation, which hit 7.9% in February, a 40-year high.

Terence Tubridy is managing partner of the IGC Hospitality Group in New York, which runs more than a dozen restaurants and employed 800 people before the pandemic hit.

He said his top challenge is hiring right now, but pay isn't the only factormaking it hard to find workers.

He said some former staff have left the industry, as their lives shifted in the pandemic. The shadow of the pandemic also continues to hurt - he said - discouraging potential recruits like wannabe actors from moving to the city.

He expects the industry's hiring crunch to last for two or three years.

"I don't think this is going away," he said.

The monthly report was another sign of healthy growth in the world's largest economy, despite challenges posed by supply disruptions stemming from the Ukraine-Russia war and coronavirus.

"There were no signs that the war in Ukraine or the surge in oil prices had put a temporary hold on hiring in any parts of the economy," said Michael Pearce, senior US economist at Capital Economics.

The US central bank raised interest rates for the first time since 2018 last month, in an effort to dampen demand and check the rising prices. It signalled plans for further increases over the coming year.

Analysts said the strong hiring last month will confirm policymakers' views that the labour market is strong enough to handle rate rises.

But some economists said the Federal Reserve should proceed with caution, pointing to signs that the pay gains may be peaking.

The labour force participation rate - at 62.4% last month - also remains a percentage point lower than it was in February 2020, a sign that more people are available to hire.

"This temporary leverage that workers have had over the last few months, as they were a bit more scarce .... unfortunately I'm not sure that's going to last," said Elise Gould, senior economist at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute in Washington.