Washington (AFP)

The accelerated vaccination campaign, wanted by Joe Biden, begins to bear fruit on the economy: the recovery takes hold thanks to the easing of restrictions, and job creation flourished in March, bringing a breath of life to the economy. "hope", according to the American president.

The host of the White House, however, called on Friday not to "lower your guard" in the face of Covid-19.

At 916,000, the number of jobs created last month is well above the announced consensus of analysts (627,000) and close to the most optimistic estimates (one million).

"The numbers released today are good news," Joe Biden said in a brief address from the White House.

"There is hope, finally, for many families," he added.

"But we still have a long way to go to get our economy back on track after the worst economic crisis in nearly a century," he warned, however, as the number of jobs is still 8 lower, 4 million to that of the peak observed before the pandemic.

At this rate, it will take months before a return to the level of early 2020.

In addition, the recovery is uneven, with less well-off minorities.

"The March jobs report is irrefutable proof that under the Democrats in Congress and President Biden, the help is there," said Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi earlier.

"More than 100 million doses of vaccines have been injected, more than 100 million checks have been sent," she said.

It is the leisure, hotel and restaurant sectors, the very ones that were devastated a year ago by the pandemic, which have boosted employment (+280,000), according to statistics from the Department of Job.

The construction sector, which suffered from bad weather in February, added 110,000 new jobs.

- Auspicious -

This March data bodes well, as it was collected earlier this month, before most states expanded access to Covid-19 vaccines and before many Americans started receiving. checks for $ 1,400 from the federal government as part of the latest $ 1.9 trillion aid package.

In other words, job growth is expected to be even faster in April.

In March, the unemployment rate fell to 6% from 6.2%.

It has, of course, fallen a lot since the peak reached in April 2020 (nearly 15%) but it remains above the 3.5% of February 2020, the ministry noted.

The drop in unemployment should also be interpreted with caution since this rate does not take into account the millions of people who have left the labor market due in particular to the prolonged closure of schools.

The biggest risk to the US economy remains the pandemic itself.

"I beg you: do not let the progress made at the cost of enormous effort go up in smoke," urged Joe Biden.

"We have to finish the job," he insisted.

Coronavirus cases are on the rise again in part of the country as many states have reopened restaurants, movie theaters, gyms and spas for example.

The country still records an average of 62,000 cases per day.

But many economists do not believe in the possibility of a further slowdown in employment as it did in the fall with a new wave of infections.

Because the vaccination campaign is in full swing: over the past week, an average of 2.9 million injections of one of the three vaccines authorized in the country have been carried out each day.

With more Americans vaccinated, the country's activity is regaining vitality.

The travel industry is expected to start taking off as US health officials gave the green light to travel for vaccinated people on Friday, while maintaining mask wear and social distancing.

If the recovery takes hold, the Biden administration has a long way to go to reduce inequality.

The unemployment rate for black people changed little in March, at 9.6% against 5.4% for whites.

Average hourly wages have fallen, reflecting the hiring of low-wage workers.

This week, Joe Biden pledged to create millions of "well-paying" jobs, unveiling a massive infrastructure investment plan of more than $ 2,000 billion over eight years, which has yet to be passed by Congress. .

© 2021 AFP