>> MY NEWS, MY WEATHER, MY INVESTIGATIONS. MY KCRA 3 NEWS. >> WE’RE SEEING A LOT MORE PEOPLE COME OUT AND DINE OUT AND DINE IN. >> I’M HAPPY WE’RE FINALLY OPEN AGAIN. COME OUT, WE’RE ALL SAFE DISTANCING. WALTER: BUSINESSES REJOICING AS RESTRICTIONS LIFT IN COUNTIES ACROSS NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE OUT TONIGHT ENJOYING THE SPRING WEATHER AND SUPPORTING LOCAL BUSINESSES. BRANDI: AS OF TONIGHT, 39 COUNTIES ARE IN THE SUBSTANTIAL, RED TIER. RESTAURANTS IN THIS TIER CAN ALLOW INDOOR DINING AT 25% CAPACITY. THAT JUMPS TO 50% CAPACITY FOR COUNTIES IN THE ORANGE TIER, LIKE YOLO COUNTY. WHILE RESTAURANTS ARE WELCOMING THE INCREASED FOOT TRAFFIC, THEY’RE STRUGGLING TO HIRE EMPLOYEES. WALTER: KCRA 3’S STEPHANIE LI VISITED TWO RESTAURANTS THAT ARE HAVING A DIFFICULT TME HIRING THE STAFF NEED, NOW THAT RESTRICTIONS ARE LOOSENING UP. STEPHANIE: BE NGUYEN COOKS UP A STORM AT HIS SEAFOOD RESTAURANT CRAB ’N SPICE IN ELK GROVE. WHIPPING UP BATCHES OF FRESH COOKED SHRIMP MARINATED IN CREAMY CAJUN SAUCE. NGUYEN CLEARLY KNOWS HIS WAY AROUND THE KITCHEN WORKING HERE WITH A SKELETON STAFF, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK SINCE THE PANDEMIC BEGAN. BE: YES, WE ARE HIRING. STEPHANIE: YOU HEARD THAT RIGHT. CRAB ’N SPICE, ONE OF MANY CALIFORNIA RESTAURANTS, READY TO HIRE NEW WORKERS. STATE OFFICIALS ANNOUNCING THIS WEEK, EMPLOYERS ADDED 141,000 NEW JOBS IN FEBRUARY THIS YEAR. THE BIGGEST GAINS HAPPENING IN THE LEISURE AND HOSPITALITY INDUSTRIES, WHICH INCLUDE RESTAURANTS. EMPLOYMENT THERE, SURGING BY MORE THAN 102,000 PEOPLE. BE: I DON’T WANT MY STAFF TO OVERWORK BUT IT’S REALLY TOUGH RIGHT NOW STEPHANIE: NGUYEN TELLS US, HE’S BEEN LOOKING FOR SERVERS AND KITCHEN STAFF FOR MONTHS. BUT HE’S YET TO GET ANY APPLICATIONS. KIM: WE’RE HAVING A HARD TIME FINDING SERVERS. STEPHANIE: CONCERNS SHARED BY KIM BUI AT HEAT SHABU A JAPANESE HOTPOT RESTAURANT IN SACRAMENTO. SHE TELLS US, JOB OPENINGS HERE HAVE BEEN POSTED SINCE OCTOBER. JASON: WE KINDA STRUGGLED THROUGHOUT THE PANDEMIC. STEPHANIE: COOK JASON PADGETT FEELING THE PRESSURE TO SERVE A GROWING NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS AS PUBLIC HEALTH RESTRICTIONS CONTINUE TO RELAX. JASON: WE’RE SEEING A LOT MORE PEOPLE COME OUT AND DINE OUT AND DINE IN. THE WORK IS HERE, READY FOR YA. STEPHANIE: SO WHY AREN’T PEOPLE APPLYING? BE: I THINK PEOPLE STILL SCARED NOT EVERYONE IS VACCINATED YET. THEY STILL IN THAT STAGE WHERE THEY AREN’T COMFORTABLE AND COME OUT. KIM: PEOPLE ARE PROBABLY JUST COMFORTABLE WITH THE EDD AND LIVING OFF THAT FOR NOW. STEPHANIE: MORE CHALLENGES ON THE ROAD TO RECOVERY FOR LOCAL RESTAURANTS SIMPLY READY TO GET BACK TO BUSINESS AS USUAL AGAIN. AND ON THE VACCINATION FRONT, CALIFORNIA IS EXPECTED TO GET 3 MILLION DOSES OF THE VACCINE PER WEEK BY MID APRIL, EFFORTS LOCAL RESTAURANTS HOPE WILL HELP SPEED THE REOPENING EFFORT. REPORTING FROM SACRAMENTO, STEPHANIE LIN KCRA 3
US employers add 916,000 jobs in March as hiring accelerates
Updated: 9:15 AM EDT Apr 2, 2021
America’s employers unleashed a burst of hiring in March, adding 916,000 jobs in a sign that a sustained recovery from the pandemic recession is taking hold as vaccinations accelerate, stimulus checks flow through the economy and businesses increasingly reopen.The March increase — the most since August — was nearly double February’s gain of 468,000, the Labor Department said Friday. The unemployment rate declined from 6.2% to 6%.Even with last month’s robust increase, the economy remains more than 8 million jobs short of the number it had before the pandemic erupted a little over a year ago. But with the recovery widely expected to strengthen, many forecasters predict enough hiring in the coming months to recover nearly all those lost jobs by year’s end.The increasingly bright outlook for the labor market follows a year of epic job losses, waves of coronavirus infections and small business closures. Numerous signs suggest that the economy is improving. Consumer confidence in March reached its highest level since the pandemic intensified.Last month, hiring strengthened across the economy. Restaurants, hotels and bars — the sector that was most damaged by the virus — added 216,000 jobs. Construction companies, aided by better weather after severe storms in February, gained 110,000.Manufacturers added 53,000. And professional and business services, which include such well-paying fields as engineering and architecture, gained 66,000.In another encouraging sign, about 500,000 women returned to the workforce last month and found jobs, in part a reflection of school re-openings around the country. Women disproportionately quit jobs or stopped looking for work during the pandemic, in many cases because they had to care for children attending school online from home. A reversal of that trend will be important as employers seek to rapidly rehire.A survey found that manufacturing grew in March at its fastest pace since 1983. And vaccinations are increasingly being administered, although new confirmed infections have risen from lower levels in recent weeks.The $1,400 checks in President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion economic relief plan have sharply increased consumer spending, according to Bank of America’s tracking of its debit and credit cards. Spending jumped 23% in the third week of March compared with pre-pandemic levels, the bank said.Spending had begun to rise in March even before the stimulus checks arrived as viral case counts have tumbled from their heights in January. Americans are increasingly willing to venture out from home to travel and eat out, though not yet at their pre-pandemic pace. Roughly 1.5 million people traveled through airports on March 28, according to the Transportation Services Administration. That was roughly eight times the figure of a year ago, although it was still down sharply from 2.5 million on the same day in 2019.The transportation analytics firm Inrix has calculated that daily car trips returned to pre-pandemic levels late last month. Many of those trips have likely been to restaurants, where the volume of seated diners was just 25% below pre-pandemic levels, on average, in the last week of March, according to OpenTable, a restaurant software provider. That’s up from 50% below pre-pandemic traffic just six weeks earlier.The burgeoning economic activity is showing signs of translating into more jobs.Karen Fichuk, CEO of Randstad North America, a recruiting firm, said the company is seeking to fill 38% more permanent jobs than it was at the end of last year. Demand for workers is particularly strong in manufacturing, information technology, logistics, and health care.
America’s employers unleashed a burst of hiring in March, adding 916,000 jobs in a sign that a sustained recovery from the pandemic recession is taking hold as vaccinations accelerate, stimulus checks flow through the economy and businesses increasingly reopen.
The March increase — the most since August — was nearly double February’s gain of 468,000, the Labor Department said Friday. The unemployment rate declined from 6.2% to 6%.
Even with last month’s robust increase, the economy remains more than 8 million jobs short of the number it had before the pandemic erupted a little over a year ago. But with the recovery widely expected to strengthen, many forecasters predict enough hiring in the coming months to recover nearly all those lost jobs by year’s end.
The increasingly bright outlook for the labor market follows a year of epic job losses, waves of coronavirus infections and small business closures. Numerous signs suggest that the economy is improving. Consumer confidence in March reached its highest level since the pandemic intensified.
Last month, hiring strengthened across the economy. Restaurants, hotels and bars — the sector that was most damaged by the virus — added 216,000 jobs. Construction companies, aided by better weather after severe storms in February, gained 110,000.
Manufacturers added 53,000. And professional and business services, which include such well-paying fields as engineering and architecture, gained 66,000.
In another encouraging sign, about 500,000 women returned to the workforce last month and found jobs, in part a reflection of school re-openings around the country. Women disproportionately quit jobs or stopped looking for work during the pandemic, in many cases because they had to care for children attending school online from home. A reversal of that trend will be important as employers seek to rapidly rehire.
A survey found that manufacturing grew in March at its fastest pace since 1983. And vaccinations are increasingly being administered, although new confirmed infections have risen from lower levels in recent weeks.
The $1,400 checks in President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion economic relief plan have sharply increased consumer spending, according to Bank of America’s tracking of its debit and credit cards. Spending jumped 23% in the third week of March compared with pre-pandemic levels, the bank said.
Spending had begun to rise in March even before the stimulus checks arrived as viral case counts have tumbled from their heights in January. Americans are increasingly willing to venture out from home to travel and eat out, though not yet at their pre-pandemic pace. Roughly 1.5 million people traveled through airports on March 28, according to the Transportation Services Administration. That was roughly eight times the figure of a year ago, although it was still down sharply from 2.5 million on the same day in 2019.
The transportation analytics firm Inrix has calculated that daily car trips returned to pre-pandemic levels late last month. Many of those trips have likely been to restaurants, where the volume of seated diners was just 25% below pre-pandemic levels, on average, in the last week of March, according to OpenTable, a restaurant software provider. That’s up from 50% below pre-pandemic traffic just six weeks earlier.
The burgeoning economic activity is showing signs of translating into more jobs.
Karen Fichuk, CEO of Randstad North America, a recruiting firm, said the company is seeking to fill 38% more permanent jobs than it was at the end of last year. Demand for workers is particularly strong in manufacturing, information technology, logistics, and health care.
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