Hiring mangers report half of their workforce are working parents.
Unemployment Rate 3.5 Percent
The U.S. economy added 528,000 nonfarm jobs in July, as unemployment dropped slightly from 3.6 percent in June to 3.5 percent in July. The Education and Health Services industry had the largest increase in employment in the private sector, adding 122,000 positions, while Government jobs increased by 57,000.
Learn more from the recent employment report compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Major Industry Employment:
- Construction: +32,000
- Manufacturing: +30,000
- Retail Trade: +21,600
- Transportation and Warehousing: +20,900
- Information: +13,000
- Professional and Business Services: +89,000
- Education and Health Services: +122,000
- Health Care and Social Assistance: +96,600
- Leisure and Hospitality: +96,000
- Government: +57,000
Question of the Month
What is the Biggest Barrier to Employment for Job Seekers Currently?
Workforce
Majority of Businesses Believe They Offer Adequate Benefits to Support Working Parents
ExpressPros.com — August 10, 2022
U.S. hiring decision-makers report roughly 50 percent of their workforce, on average, are working parents, and in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, 82 percent of these hiring managers say their company offers enough benefits to working parents to make them feel accommodated and supported, according to a recent survey from The Harris Poll commissioned by Express Employment Professionals.
With the next few weeks marking the start of the third school year since the onset of the pandemic, school closures added additional pressure and tension on the shoulders of working parents-possibly more so for working mothers than fathers. Nearly four in five hiring decision-makers (79 percent) agree that working mothers have faced more challenges than working fathers-around a third (34 percent) strongly agree.
More than half of companies (55 percent) currently offer paid leave, including paid maternity (39 percent), paternity (31 percent) and/or paid parental leave for parents fostering and/or adopting (22 percent). Flexible work hours (43 percent), flexible work location (34 percent), unpaid parental leave (31 percent) and/or the ability to work part-time (31 percent) are also offered at many companies.
Specifically, since the start of the pandemic, around two in five U.S. hiring decision-makers with working parents in their workforce report the company allows working parents to work remotely (42 percent), adjust their work hours (41 percent) and/or take time off to care for their children (37 percent).
Companies Taking a “Wait and See” Approach to Workload Management Hires
ExpressPros.com — July 27, 2022
U.S. companies are struggling to get relief for overworked employees as 60 percent of businesses say they need more employees to manage their workload but do not have the capacity to hire, according to a recent survey from The Harris Poll commissioned by Express Employment Professionals.
This sentiment is felt most among larger companies, as companies with more than 500 employees are more likely than those with less than 500 employees to cite the need for additional workload relief (71 percent vs. 48 percent).
Of those who lack the bandwidth to hire additional employees, nearly half (48 percent) say it is a result of their company adjusting their recruiting/hiring strategy. Some are taking a “wait and see” approach, as around two in five U.S. hiring decision-makers (42 percent) report their company is waiting to see if the workload will level out before hiring additional employees.
Around three in ten say their upper management has not approved the hiring of additional staff (32 percent), or do not have enough money in the budget this year (30 percent).
“Business owners have a lot to keep them up at night without adding the lack of hiring capacity to already uncertain economic conditions,” Express Employment International CEO Bill Stoller said. “We need more workers to come off the sidelines to help solve a multitude of workplace issues and help stabilize one piece of the global economy, at least here at home.”
Staffing
Temporary Employment Up in July
Staffing Industry Analysts — August 5, 2022
After growing modestly in June, the U.S. temporary help industry continued to grow in July by adding 9,800 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. With the revisions in May and June, temporary jobs were 7,300 lower than previously reported.
Compared to pre-pandemic levels in February 2020, the temporary help services industry has expanded by 244,100 jobs, totaling 3.1 million jobs. The number of temporary jobs as a percentage of overall employment (temporary penetration rate) remained at 2.07 percent in July, the same rate recorded in April, May and June.
“Job gains were broad based across sectors of the economy, implying that employer appetite to bolster their workforces is eclipsing any near-term concerns about inflation, rising interest rates and supply chain disruption,” said Timothy Landhuis, VP of research at Staffing Industry Analysts. “In addition, we note a milestone has been achieved in that the 152.5 million nonfarm jobs for July has, for the first time, surpassed the number of jobs the U.S. had prior to the recession.”
Business
Employment Trends Index Decreased in July
The Conference Board — August 8, 2022
After slightly rebounding in June, The Conference Board Employment Trends Index (ETI) dropped, decreasing from a downwardly revised 118.71 in June to 117.63 in July. The decrease can be attributed to negative readings from six out of eight index components: Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance, Ratio of Involuntarily Part-time to All Part-time Workers, Percentage of Respondents Who Say They Find Jobs Hard to Get, Real Manufacturing and Trade Sales, Percentage of Firms with Jobs Not Able to Fill Right Now and Industrial Production.
“The Employment Trends Index declined in July and has now been on a downward trend since March 2022,” said Frank Steemers, senior economist at The Conference Board. “While the U.S. labor market is currently still robust, the recent behavior of the Index signals that slower job gains should be expected over the next several months. This would bring the labor market in line with the rest of the economy, where economic activity has already been slowing.”
Consumer Confidence Decreases in July
The Conference Board — July 26, 2022
After dropping in June, U.S. consumer confidence continued to decrease in July. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index decreased from an upwardly revised reading of 98.7 in June to 95.7 in July. The short-term outlook of consumers increased as the Expectations Index was down from 65.8 in June to 65.3 in July. The Present Situation Index, which shows current views on business and labor conditions, was down from 147.2 in June to 141.3 in July.
The report also found that 50.1 percent of respondents felt jobs were currently plentiful, down from 51.5 percent in June; while the amount of those who said jobs were hard to get was up from 11.6 percent in June to 12.3 percent in July.
“Consumer confidence fell for a third consecutive month in July,” said Lynn Franco, Senior Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board. “The decrease was driven primarily by a decline in the Present Situation Index — a sign growth has slowed at the start of Q3. The Expectations Index held relatively steady, but remained well below a reading of 80, suggesting recession risks persist. Concerns about inflation — rising gas and food prices, in particular — continued to weigh on consumers.”
Economy
U.S. Inflation Eased, Still Among Highest in 40 Years
Wall Street Journal — August 10, 2022
After reaching 9.1 percent in June, U.S. inflation eased slightly to 8.5 percent year over year, affected by gas prices slightly down due to lower demand. According to the Labor Department, the consumer price index (CPI), which measures what consumers pay for goods and services, increased by an annual rate of 8.5 percent in July compared to the same month last year. However, month-over-month the CPI eased its 25-consecutive months of increases. June marked the first time this century inflation reached nine percent; however, July marked the fourth consecutive month of eclipsing the eight percent mark.
Grocery prices still remain an issue for many consumers and were up 1.3 percent in July month over month. Compared to July 2021, grocery prices rose 13.1 percent, which marks the sharpest annual gain since 1979.
Before pandemic-related issues and higher government spending, inflation was at 1.8 percent in 2019, below the two percent goal of the Federal Reserve.
