Strong job growth points to COVID's fading grip on economy

• U.S. businesses stepped up their hiring last month as the omicron faded and more Americans ventured out to spend at restaurants, shops, and hotels despite surging inflation. Employers added 678,000 jobs in February, the largest monthly total since July, the Labor Department reported Friday. The unemployment rate dropped to 3.8%, from 4% in January, extending a sharp decline in joblessness to its lowest level since before the pandemic erupted two years ago.