March saw a hiring surge, adding 916,000 new jobs
The U.S. job market roared back to life in March — and with vaccinations accelerating, businesses reopening and federal aid flowing, the rebound should only get stronger from here.
U.S. employers added 916,000 jobs last month, twice as many as in February and the most since August, the Labor Department said Friday. The unemployment rate fell to 6 percent, its lowest level since the coronavirus pandemic began, and nearly 350,000 people rejoined the labor force.
The data was collected early in the month, before most states broadened vaccine access and before most Americans began receiving $1,400 checks as part of the latest federal relief package. It was also before the recent rise in virus cases, which economists warned could slow the recovery if it worsened. But on balance, forecasters are optimistic that hiring will remain strong in coming months.
“March’s jobs report is the most optimistic report since the pandemic began,” said Daniel Zhao, senior economist for career site Glassdoor. “It’s not the largest gain in payrolls since the pandemic began, but it’s the first where it seems like the finish line is in sight.”
President Joe Biden, speaking at the White House on Friday, hailed the report as evidence that his economic and public health initiatives are bearing fruit.
“My message to the American people is this,” he said. “Help is here, opportunity is coming and at long last there is hope for so many families.”
Biden said the report was also a reminder of the deep hole created by the pandemic. The U.S. still has 8.4 million fewer jobs than in February 2020.
Even if employers kept hiring at the pace they did in March, it would take months to fill the gap.
And if the increase in coronavirus cases turns into a full-blown new wave of infections, it could force some states to reimpose restrictions, impeding the recovery.
But few economists expect a repeat of the winter, when a spike in cases pushed the recovery into reverse. More than a quarter of U.S. adults have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, and more than 2 million people a day are being inoculated.
ployees in Texas their jobs.
Burtch had sued the four former executives on behalf of the bankruptcy estate.
In his San Antonio lawsuit, Burtch called Parker’s management a “disaster.” He accused Pike, Van der Wiel and Balthrope of putting their own interests ahead of the company’s, leading to its bankruptcy liquidation.
Parker School Uniforms was “torn between factions,” and the relationship between Pike and Van der Wiel “deteriorated to the point where each was pushing their own agenda at the expense” of the company, the suit said.
“The toxic atmosphere resulted in numerous grossly negligent decisions that combined to cause the swift downfall of PSU,” Burtch alleged.
Replacing Parker’s supply-chain management system on the eve of the 2017 selling season was perhaps the most egregious of all the negligent moves made by management, he said. The new system was “an abject failure” because the company couldn’t supply customers in a timely manner.
Burtch also criticized management’s decision to pursue a brick-and-mortar business model at a time when the industry was moving to a online platforms. Management “pushed massive growth” when the company did not have the means to support it, the suit said.
In addition, the complaint said, a substantial portion of the company’s inventory was “obsolete” but was kept on the books for far in excess of its real value.
A trial in the San Antonio case was scheduled to start next week, a court filing says. Pike, Van der Wiel and Balthrope are the defendants in the action. Two Parker directors were named in the suit but were later dropped from the case.
Burtch also sued the exofficers individually in bankruptcy court to recover payments that he deemed “fraudulent transfers” of company assets.
A court filing shows the amount each allegedly received:
Pike, $277,902; Van der Wiel, $251,777; Balthrope, $124,700; and Sarpa, $170,557.
Burtch settled the five lawsuits, even though he said he believed he would prevail at trial. The defendants “asserted that they met their professional obligations and the applicable standard of care, did not breach their duties, and did not … cause any damages,” Burtch said in the filing. They also had legal defenses regarding the allegedly improper payments.
Those defenses “may have merit,” Burtch said in explaining why he agreed to settle the cases.
Matthew Walker, a Houston lawyer for the four defendants, had no comment Friday. A bankruptcy court hearing to approve the settlement agreement is set for April 14.
The retailer listed about $21.7 million in assets and $31.6 million in debts at the time of its bankruptcy filing.