Hiring gains have topped 400,000 every month since May 2021.
"The labor market remains in solid shape as the spring quarter begins,’’ said Stuart Hoffman, senior economic adviser at PNC Financial. "Demand for labor is very strong ... Firms are competing for workers and bidding up wages.’’This week, the Labor Department provided further evidence that the job market is still booming. It reported that only 1.38 million Americans were collecting traditional unemployment benefits, the fewest since 1970.
For all the sparkling signs of a healthy labor market, it's unclear how much longer the hiring surge will last. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve In the meantime, with many industries slowed by worker shortages, companies have been jacking up pay to try to attract job applicants and retain their existing employees: Hourly wages rose 5.6% in March from a year earlier — the third-largest monthly jump in Labor Department records dating to 2007.