Blue collar jobs are increasing, despite the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the job market. Lydia Hu from FOX Business with more.
US private employers created fewer jobs than expected in February, even as the number of COVID-19 cases across the country declined and state governments suspended some blocking measures implemented to stem the spread of the virus, according to the ADP National Employment Report released on Wednesday.
The report showed that companies created 117,000 jobs last month, missing the 177,000 increase predicted by economists surveyed by Refinitiv.
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“The labor market continues to show a slow recovery in all areas,” said Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, in a statement. “We are seeing large companies increasingly feeling the effects of COVID-19, while job growth in the goods production sector is halted.
Employment gains were heavily concentrated in service-related businesses, which accounted for 131,000 of the total increase. Commerce, transportation and utilities led these businesses with 48,000 new jobs created, while education and health services added 35,000 jobs.
The leisure and hospitality industry, one of the hardest hit by the pandemic, saw its payroll rise by 26,000 last month.
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“With the pandemic still in the driver’s seat, the service sector remains well below its pre-pandemic levels,” said Richardson. “However, this sector is likely to benefit most over time from reopening and increasing consumer confidence.”
Midsize companies employing between 50 and 499 employees saw the biggest growth last month, with 57,000 jobs created. Meanwhile, small companies added 32,000 positions, while the payroll of large companies increased by 28,000.
The launch of the ADP comes two days before the Department of Labor’s employment report, which is expected to show that payrolls have increased by 180,000 and the unemployment rate has remained stable at 6.3%.
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In total, the US recovered about half of the 22 million jobs lost during the first two months of the pandemic. There are still about 9.9 million more unemployed Americans than a year ago in February, before the crisis began.