The unemployment rate for the industry tumbled to 6.6%, a slide of 1.6 percentage points from January and closer to the 5.7% of February 2020. Wages actually declined slightly, falling 2 cents an hour to $19.35. The increase in hiring for bars, restaurants, hotels and other similar businesses likely is contributing to the slower pace of pay increases….

Previous months saw upward revisions. December moved up to 588,000, an increase of 78,000 from the previous estimate, while January’s rose to 481,000. Together, the revisions added 92,000 more than previously recorded and brought the three-month average to 582,000.

The labor force participation rate, a closely watched metric indicating worker engagement, moved higher to 62.3%, still 1.1 percentage points from the February 2020 pre-pandemic level. An alternative measure of unemployment that includes discouraged workers and those holding part-time jobs for economic reasons, and is sometimes referred to as the “real” unemployment rate, also edged up, to 7.2%….

“If we see more numbers like this moving forward, we can be optimistic about this year,” wrote Nick Bunker, economic research director at job search site Indeed. “Employment is growing at a strong rate and joblessness is getting closer and closer to pre-pandemic levels. Still, in these uncertain times, we cannot take anything for granted. But if the recovery can keep up its current tempo, several key indicators of labor market health will hit pre-pandemic levels this summer.”

The economy also has been wrestling with pernicious inflation pressures running at their highest levels since the early 1980s stagflation days. The Labor Department’s main inflation gauge showed consumer prices rising at a 7.5% clip in January, a number that is expected to climb to close to 8% when February’s report is released next week.

Amid it all, companies continue to hire, filling broad gaps still left in the leisure and hospitality sector as well as multiple other pandemic-struck industries….

How are you praying for our leaders and our economy?

(Excerpt from CNBC. Photo Credit: Marten Bjork on Unsplash)