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The economy could add more than 1 million jobs in April, economists say.

Hiring seems to have strengthened as businesses reopen, leading some economists to make big predictions for the number of jobs added during the month. The April employment report is expected on May 7.

Job growth picked up in March, with 916,000 payrolls, and some economists expect that trend has continued. The number of people filing for first-time unemployment benefits fell to a fresh pandemic low of 553,000 for the week ended April 24.

Now that nearly 30% of Americans are fully vaccinated, more businesses are reopening, air travel is picking up and foot traffic in retail stores is increasing.

If nonfarm payroll gains surpass 1 million, it would be the first time since last August, before the second wave of Covid hit in the fall.

Strong projections

Jefferies economists are forecasting 2.1 million job gains in April, by far the highest estimate on Wall Street.

Evercore expects employment will rise by 1 million jobs.

Morgan Stanley economists forecast 1.25 million, and Capital Economics predicts a gain of 1.2 million.

Morgan Stanley economists said their forecast was influenced by the decline in unemployment claims.