Even though employment in space is down 9.4% since February 2020, the sector has seen steady job gains in recent months. Job growth in the arts, entertainment and recreation totaled 43,000, indicating a recovery from the severe devastation of Covid.

Other areas have shown signs of life. Professional and business services added 60,000 jobs while retail employment increased by 56,000.

In general, in-store retailers have performed well this season, with clothing purchases picking up around Labor Day. According to a report by foot traffic analysis firm Placer.ai, Bloomingdale saw visits slightly above pre-pandemic levels in the first week of September, while

Macy’s

and Nordstrom were down less than 10% from 2019 figures.

As it continues to dig, the transportation and warehousing sector saw an increase of more than 47,000 jobs during the month. The sector includes truck drivers, sailors, tankers, airline pilots and other similar occupations.

As supply chain disruptions continue, the demand for drivers is increasing. “If you have the license to drive a truck you can earn a lot of money [now]Said Markus Hansen, portfolio manager at Vontobel Quality Growth. “As social benefits go wild, there will be people forced to go there,” he added.

Job gains were also seen in other sectors: news added 32,000 jobs and manufacturing jobs increased by 26,000. Conditions are improving for some hard-hit populations. The black unemployment rate fell to 7.9% from 8.8% the previous month. African Americans continue to face higher unemployment rates than white or Asian workers; these two groups had unemployment rates of 4.2%.

Write to Karishma Vanjani at [email protected]