U.S. employers were able to withstand a rise in cases of omicron Covid-19. add over 450,000 jobs last monthStrong hiring in restaurants, bars and retail stores has resulted in a strong workforce of mail- and parcel delivery workers.

More than 150,000 new jobs were created in the leisure and hospitality industry, which was particularly hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. This latest gain is the latest in a series of impressive numbers for this sector that includes hotels, restaurants, casinos, and theme parks.

Over the past twelve months, the average monthly growth in leisure and hospitality jobs has been 196,000 per month. This is a remarkable turnaround from the worst pandemic. The sector still lacks 1.8 million jobs (or 10.3%) compared to February 2020. This is due to widespread business closings.

Restaurants and bars created 108,000 new jobs in the sector. Accommodation added 22,000, while amusement, gaming, and recreational venues added 20,000.

Retail saw positive job growth in January, with employers adding 61,400 payrolls to their operations, which was the second-best industry print for the past 12 months. 11300 people were employed in health and personal care, while department stores saw an increase of 12,000. Warehouse clubs saw a rise of 16,700.

“The jobs report defied all expectations. In an email, Cliff Hodge from Cornerstone Wealth stated that the headline 467,000 figure was well above what had been expected. Wages were high, but most important, labor participation rates rose during Omicron spikes.”

Transport and warehousing saw a solid January, with 54,200 new jobs. This was in addition to thousands of returning couriers and messengers. The number of workers who deliver mail and pick up packages grew by 21200, while the number of warehousing facilities and storage units jumped 13,400.

In January 2022 the U.S. employed 7,500 truckers, which was the third best month in 12 years. This subset of U.S. workers is closely watching for relief from supply chain disruptions.

In a press release, the Labor Department stated that “in January, there were job gains in couriers (+12,000), warehousing & storage (13,000), truck transportation (+18,000), and aviation transportation (+7,000).” The Labor Department stated in a press release that all four components of the industry have exceeded their February 2020 employment levels. They saw strong growth in warehousing, storage (+410,000), couriers and messages (+236,000)”

January saw 86,000 new jobs in the professional and business sector. There were also decent gains for computer system designers, management consultants, and others.

Many economists said they were happy to see the labor force participation rate and the employment-to-population ratio both climb 0.3 percentage points in January. According to the Labor Department, the rise in participation was due to an increase in population size in high-risk age groups.

Monthly average hourly earnings grew by 0.7%, the fastest pace since December 2020. The average hourly earnings rose 5.68% in comparison to January 2021. This is the fastest annual rate since spring 2020.

—Nate Rattner of CNBC contributed reporting.