Unemployment rate falls to 6% in March as employers add 916,000 jobs

ablokhin/iStockBy Catherine Thorbecke, ABC News

(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. unemployment rate last month slipped to 6% as some 916,000 jobs were added to the economy, the Department of Labor said Friday.

Friday’s jobs report comes amid glimmers of hope that the end of the pandemic is within sight, as COVID-19 cases fall across the country and vaccine access is finally opening up.

The economy, however, still bears deep scars from the health crisis. Before COVID-19 shocked the economy, the unemployment rate in the U.S. was at a historic low of 3.5%.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.