(Reuters) – In the United States, more workers were unable or unwilling to work in the past four weeks because of the COVID-19 pandemic. On Friday, a Labor Department survey found that fewer people said they are not searching for employment due to those concerns.

After a difficult summer, when the Delta virus of the coronavirus ravaged the economy and posed new uncertainty in the labor markets, the numbers now reflect an economy that’s gaining momentum.

According to the survey, 3.83 million workers were not able to work or had reduced hours because their businesses closed down or cut back. This is in contrast to 5.03 million reported in August, which interrupted a downward trend.

The survey showed that COVID-19 incidences in the United States have decreased by more than half since September’s peak. This highly transmissible Delta variant accounts for more than 99 percent of all cases.

Also, from 1.63million in the previous month, 1.29 million people stated they had not looked for work due to COVID-19 fear. This was the lowest level since the pandemic and a good sign that the economy is suffering with labor shortages.

These figures were derived from an ongoing survey of American households that was conducted by the U.S. Government and has been accompanied with the monthly jobs report ever since the outbreak of the pandemic.

The main report revealed that the U.S. saw a rebound in job growth in October, as the impact of the spike in COVID-19 infection rates over the summer receded. This was a significant improvement on two months of declining gains.

“It’s a sigh of relief after the Delta variant dampened employment the past couple of months and now it’s behind us,” said David Petrosinelli, a senior trader at InspereX in New York.

Last month, 18.05 million people said that they had teleworked in the aftermath of the pandemic. This is down from September’s 20.35million.