US jobless claims drop, but are still high

New unemployment numbers are providing a potential sign of recovery from the more than year-long pandemic and economic malaise.

U.S. employers added a robust 379,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate ticked lower, signs that the economy is strengthening as confirmed viral cases drop, consumers spend more and states and cities ease business restrictions.

The February gain marked a sharp pickup from the 166,000 jobs that were added in January and the loss of 306,000 in December.

Yet it represents just a fraction of the roughly 9.6 million jobs that the economy needs to regain to return to pre-pandemic levels.

The U.S. economy "still has a long way to go" says economist and Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management Professor Phillip Braun.

"We have to remember that there are still 10 million U.S. citizens that are unemployed and another four million U.S. citizens who stepped out of the labour force," said Braun.