Unemployment Rate
3.4%
The U.S. economy added 517,000 nonfarm jobs in January, as the unemployment rate decreased from 3.5% in December to 3.4% in January. The Leisure and Hospitality industry had the largest increase in employment in the private sector, adding 128,000 positions, while Government jobs increased by 74,000. Learn more from the recent employment report compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and view the unemployment rate in your state.
Major Industry Employment:
- Construction: +25,000
- Manufacturing: +19,000
- Retail Trade: +30,100
- Transportation and Warehousing: +22,900
- Information: -5,000
- Professional and Business Services: +82,000
- Education and Health Services: +78,000
- Health Care and Social Assistance: +79,200
- Leisure and Hospitality: +128,000
- Government: +74,000
Question of the Month
What Are the Biggest Time Drains at Your Job?
Workforce
Offering Semi-Retirement to Workers Could Slow Turnover
ExpressPros.com — January 25, 2023
With employee turnover showing no signs of slowing down, offering older workers a chance to delay full retirement may help slow the exodus — even if only momentarily, according to a survey from The Harris Poll commissioned by Express Employment Professionals.
Retiring employees are expected to account for 28% of turnover in 2023, with U.S. hiring managers reporting among those at their company who retired in the past two years, most commonly 60 years of age or older (79%).
However, in an effort to postpone the time of retirement for employees, some have chosen to offer “semi-retirement,” which allows employees to reduce their hours and/or make a flexible schedule (30%).
Employees appear to take advantage of this offering, as nearly 3 in 5 hiring managers whose company offers semi-retirement say the number of employees choosing to semi-retire has remained the same over the past two years (59%), and nearly 2 in 5 reporting the number of those semi-retiring has actually increased (37%).
Hiring Remains Strong, But Costly
ExpressPros.com — February 8, 2023
Expectations for wage increases have steadily risen over the past few years with 2023 marking their highest level yet. Seventy-five percent of hiring managers predict employees at their companies will receive a bump in pay this year, up from 58% in 2020, according to a survey from The Harris Poll commissioned by Express Employment Professionals.
Anticipated wage increases were strong at 69% in 2021 and 70% in 2022. This comes at a time when U.S. hiring managers say recruiting over the next year appears encouraging as three quarters (75%) say they feel positively, including feelings of optimism (43%), hopefulness (38%), and confidence (36%).
Three in five (60%) hiring managers say their company plans to increase the number of employees in the first half of 2023 on par with the first and second halves of 2022. Around a third (31%) report their company plans to either stay around the same number of employees or make no change.
For companies that report plans to increase their number of employees in the first half of this year, many say this increase is due, in part, to the need to manage increased volumes of work (49%).
The need to fill positions that are open due to employee turnover (48%), fill newly created positions (44%), and handle expansion into other categories or markets (34%) are also motivating factors for hiring at their companies.
Staffing
Temporary Employment Rebounds in January
Staffing Industry Analysts — February 3, 2023
After declining sharply in December, the U.S. temporary help industry rebounded in January adding 25,900 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The total temporary jobs reached 3.08 million.
The number of temporary jobs as a percentage of overall employment (temporary penetration rate) increased from a revised rate of 1.97% in December to 1.98% in January.
“We remain in one of the tightest labor markets in history,” said Nicola Hancock, managing director – Americas Region at AMS, a global provider of talent acquisition outsourcing and advisory services. “Companies haven’t been able to fill their skills gaps in years, so while some sectors have slowed down, companies are still desperately seeking to acquire certain skill sets. Tech skills such as AI, cybersecurity and digital marketing are highest in demand. While the technology industry has made layoffs, these workers are finding new opportunities in other sectors such as life sciences, healthcare, hospitality and travel.”
Business
Employment Trends Index Increased in January
The Conference Board — February 6, 2023
After increasing in December, The Conference Board Employment Trends Index (ETI) continued to rise from an upwardly revised 117.06 in December to 118.74 in January. The increase can be attributed to positive readings from seven out of eight index components: “Initial Claims for Unemployment,” “Real Manufacturing and Trade Sales,” “Percentage of Firms With Positions Not Able to Fill Right Now,” “Percentage of Respondents Who Say They Find ‘Jobs Hard to Get,’” “Industrial Production,” “Number of Employees Hired by the Temporary-Help Industry,” and “Job Openings.”
“The ETI rose for the second consecutive month in January, a reversal of a short-lived declining trend in 2022,” said Selcuk Eren, Senior Economist at The Conference Board. “Despite rapid interest rate hikes—which were expected to reduce labor demand—we haven’t seen widespread layoffs. Indeed, hiring was outsized and broadly based in the January employment report. Robust hiring continues to keep the ETI at a very high level, and the economy is still experiencing significant job gains in industries where labor shortages have been most acute.”
Consumer Confidence Declined in January
The Conference Board — January 31, 2023
After bouncing back in December from a two-month decline, U.S. consumer confidence slipped in January. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index decreased from an upwardly revised reading of 109.0 in December to 107.1 in January. The short-term outlook of consumers increased as the Expectations Index was down from 83.4 in December to 77.8 in January. The Present Situation Index, which shows current views on business and labor conditions, was up from 147.4 in December to 150.9 in January.
The report also found that 48.2% of respondents felt jobs were currently plentiful, up from 46.4% in December; while the amount of those who said jobs were hard to get was down from 11.9% in December to 11.3% in January.
Economy
U.S. Inflation Slows, But Remains High in January
Wall Street Journal — February 14, 2023
After eclipsing the 8% mark for six consecutive months and remaining high in 2022, U.S. inflation eased slightly month-over-month to begin the year in January, yet remained high year-over-year. According to the Labor Department, the consumer price index (CPI), which measures what consumers pay for goods and services, decreased slightly reaching an annual rate of 6.4% in January compared to the same month last year, down from 6.5% in December. Though tripling the annualized rate of 2% the Federal Reserve aims for, the decrease represents consecutive months of declines from the 9.1% peak reached in June 2022.
After increasing by 0.1% in December, the month-over-month CPI continued to rise by 0.5% in January. Excluding volatile categories of energy and food prices, Core CPI rose 5.6% compared to January 2022, down from 6.7% in December.
“While the overall trend continues to improve, inflation continues to wield formidable momentum,” said Sarah House, senior economist at Wells Fargo. “The Federal Reserve is justified in its concern that inflation won’t easily be brought to heel.”
Before pandemic-related issues, inflation was at 1.8% in 2019, below the 2% goal of the Federal Reserve.
