The U.S. economy added 431,000 jobs in March, according to data released Friday by the Department of Labor.

93% of jobs lost during the pandemic have now returned in what The Washington Post calls “the most rapid labor market rebound on record.”

Nearly a quarter of all jobs added came from the leisure and hospitality sector, a byproduct of Americans feeling more comfortable with travel and recreation as the omicron COVID-19 surge waned.

The top line jobs number was slightly lower than the 490,000 that economists surveyed by Dow Jones predicted, but the unemployment rate fell to 3.6%, the labor force participation rate rose, and wage gains accelerated. Average hourly wages for private-sector workers increased by 13 cents to $31.73.

In continuing a recent trend, the labor department corrected jobs numbers from previous months. CNBC explains:

Revisions from prior months also were strong. January’s total rose 23,000 to 504,000, while February was revised up to 750,000 compared to the initial count of 678,000. For the first quarter, job growth totaled 1.685 million, an average of nearly 562,000.

The Post reports:

The fastest economic recovery in decades has pushed many measures of employment strength into uncharted territory: Job creation and new openings are at near-record levels, while the jobless rate is approaching historic lows. But some worry that the labor market may be too tight, with businesses across the economy reporting labor shortages, as job openings continue to far outnumber available workers.

The Wall Street Journal adds:

One factor that could help employers fill open roles: More Americans appear to be seeking a job now versus earlier in the pandemic. Clicks and job applications on jobs site ZipRecruiter have increased since mid-February. The labor-force participation rate—the share of people employed or looking for work—rose to 62.3% in February, up from 62.2% a month earlier and from a trough of 60.2% in April 2020.

Many retirees are coming back: In February, the share of retired workers re-entering the workforce climbed to around 3% of total retirees, its highest level since early March 2020, according to an Indeed analysis of federal labor data.

Mark Hamrick, the senior economic analyst at Bankrate.com, provided context to The New York Times:

“For consumers, most of whom are either workers or reliant on so-called breadwinners, the state of the job market provides a solid underpinning for household finances,” said [Hamrick]. “These same households are being tested by inflation, which will flash further into the red with forthcoming readings, aggravated by impacts of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” effectively serving as a tax on savings, which improved for many during the pandemic.