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Industry News

July Jobs Report: Some Relief After a Week of Bad News

by on Aug. 5, 2011


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With Wall Street braced for the worst, the U.S. Labor Department had good news this morning. The U.S. economy added 117,000 jobs in July and the unemployment rate dipped to 9.1 percent.

Coming the day after the Dow plunged more than 500 points, the better-than-expected jobs numbers offered some relief from the last two weeks of pessimistic reports about the economy. Stocks opened higher.

Estimates ahead of the report pegged job growth at around 90,000 during July, though some economists said the number could be as low as 55,000. The unemployment rate, which ticked up in June to 9.2 percent, was expected to be unchanged. ADP’s National Employment Report Wednesday, which is not often in sync with the government report, said 114,000 private sector jobs were added in July. The BLS put that number at a 154,000. Government job losses offset the private sector gains.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which compiles and maintains labor data for the U.S., also revised upwards jobs numbers for May by 53,000 and June by 46,000.

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Industry News

Private Sector Jobs Up for July, Though Other Reports Suggest Stalling Economy

by on Aug. 3, 2011


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Payroll processor ADP says 114,000 private sector jobs were created in July, a number inline, if on the high side, with what economists expected.

All but 9,000 of the jobs were created by small and mid-size businesses employing up to 499 workers. The gain came in the service sector, which added 121,000 jobs during the month, according to ADP and its forecasting partner, Macroeconomic Advisers. The goods-producing sector lost 7,000 jobs, with manufacturing alone shedding 1,00o. Construction was down by 11,000, the third consecutive monthly decline.

Widely watched for clues as to what the U.S. Labor Department’s monthly employment report (out on the Friday after the ADP release) is likely to show, the ADP National Employment Report is often far off the official numbers.

In June, ADP estimated private sector job creation at 157,000, revised down to 145,000 in today’s release. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics put the private sector number at 57,000. For May, ADP said 73,000 jobs were created; the BLS said 36,000. In April, ADP said 179,000 jobs were added; the BLS said 241,00.

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Industry News

June Jobs Report: Not What We Expected

by on Jul. 8, 2011


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Expectations that the seesawing U.S. economy might be stabilizing were cruelly dashed this morning with the release of official numbers showing a mere 18,000 jobs were created in June. The unemployment rate climbed to 9.2 percent from May’s 9.1 percent.

It was the third consecutive month the unemployment rate rose, while June’s jobs growth was the lowest since last September when the economy lost jobs. The jobs growth was also far lower than economists had been expecting. Even the most conservative estimate pegged June’s job growth at 40,000, according to Bloomberg.

Surveys by various financial services predicted that this morning’s report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics would show the economy added as many as 115,000 jobs during the month. Those predictions were buoyed by yesterday’s robust ADP report that estimated the economy added 157,000 private sector jobs in June.

Instead, today’s report put the growth in private, non-farm jobs at 57,000 for the month. Government, at all levels, shed 39,000.

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ASA: Spike in Temporary Jobs Hits 20-Year High

by on Jan. 8, 2010


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The American Staffing Association claims that continued growth in temporary help bodes well for overall job growth, a nod to the latest job numbers released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday.

In the new BLS report, data shows that:

  • Temporary help employment increased by 2.5%, seasonally adjusted, from November to December. Despite several sectors of the economy losing more jobs, temporary help services was one of the few industries that continued to add jobs during this period.
  • Steady employment gains have occurred in temporary help since a low point in July 2009; staffing has added 166,000 jobs over the past five months.
  • More new temporary jobs were created in December than at any comparable period in the past 20 years.
  • Seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment fell by 85,000 in December, with most losses in construction, manufacturing, and wholesale trade.
  • The overall unemployment rate remained at 10%.

“Businesses are reluctant to hire new employees until they are more confident in the economic recovery, instead preferring the work force flexibility offered by staffing firms,” says Richard Wahlquist, president of the ASA.

As such, he thinks the “consistent trend of temporary help job growth” is a positive sign for overall job growth in the near future.

Indeed, economist Hugh Johnson calls it a closely watched number because “temporary help will become permanent help.”

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Unemployment Drops On Lowest Job Loss in 2 Years

by on Dec. 4, 2009


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Data Chart for NovRejoice. Do a happy dance. Say “Hallelujah.” Again. “Hallelujah.” The unemployment rate has dropped to 10 percent. Job losses for November were 11,000, the lowest since December 2007, the last month that the number of jobs in the U.S. actually grew.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which released November’s jobs numbers a few hours ago, also dramatically scaled back the numbers for September and October. Job losses initially reported for those months — 219,000 and 190,000 respectively — were revised to 139,000 and 111,000.

Economists had been expecting that November’s report would show job losses in the range of 114,000 to 125,000 and an unemployment rate unchanged from October’s 10.2 percent.

The numbers caught them off guard, with many cautioning that a single break in an otherwise unrelenting pattern of triple-digit losses may be a sign of a genuine turnaround. Or it may be just an aberration.

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Stanton Chase: Insights on the 9.7% Unemployment Rate

by on Sep. 24, 2009


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The unemployment rate hit a 26-year high, reaching 9.7% in August.

That’s even more disappointing news considering that in July, the unemployment rate fell for the first time in 15 months. Perhaps the only bit of good news — if you can call it that — is employers cut fewer jobs in August than they did the month before.

The Labor Department said that August job cuts totaled 216,000. The industries hardest hit were manufacturing and construction, losing 50,000 and 65,000, respectively.

Looking forward, where do we go from here? What does the remainder of 2009 look like?

Will there be more cuts? When will things start to improve?

To get a national perspective into what’s taking place, here are some thoughts from several of the managing directors from global executive search firm Stanton Chase.

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2009 Recruiter Economic Survey with Barb Bruno Commentary

by on Aug. 7, 2009


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Is the economy rebounding?

Friday’s latest jobs report shows the July unemployment at 9.4%, down from 9.5% in June. American employers cut just 247,000 jobs, the fewest in a year.

This data also comes on the heels of the release of the 2009 Recruiter Economic Survey by Sendouts, the online recruitment software and ATS company.

Here are a few significant findings from the Sendouts survey:

  • Recruiting professionals handling one-to-three jobs a time has jumped from 6% to 44%.
  • Recruiters having only one-to-three interviews per month has risen from 26% to 55%.
  • The average number of those making only one placement each month increased from 24% to 53%.
  • Average annual revenue is more modest, with fewer multi-million dollar revenues reported (check out questions 10 and 11 to see how you stack up!).
  • Out of the survey respondents, 70% noted they reduced expenses and operating costs with only 6% increasing staff during this period.

The full list of questions and answers offer a fascinating glimpse into the REAL economic recovery, so be sure to check out the full report.

As a bonus for long-time Barb Bruno fans, you can hear her audio commentary as well.

She points out that businesses only start looking at reducing costs and streamlining operations after an economic situation occurs. She notes that some businesses only look at internal processes when revenues slow, when they should constantly look at ways to increase efficiency,  regardless of the economic situation.

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663,000 Jobs Lost in March

by on Apr. 3, 2009


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The nation’s unemployment rate rose from 8.1% to 8.5% in March. Since the recession began in December 2007, 5.1 million jobs have been lost, with almost two-thirds (3.3 million) of the decrease occurring in the last five months.

According to BLS data for March, professional and business services lost 133,000 jobs, while financial activities lost 43,000 jobs (finance is actually out 495,00 jobs total since an employment peak in December 2006).

The last time unemployment hit 8.5% was in November 1983, after peaking at 10.8% in 1982.

This video from Fox News calls it a “striking” reality:

In addition, a blog in the Wall Street Journal claims that unemployment may top 10% by early next year, but could even top 18%. “For people in this group, comparisons to the Great Depression (when 25% of Americans were out of work) may not look so wild even if overall economic activity is holding up better.”

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By the Numbers: Unemployment at 8.1% and Other Sad Figures

by on Mar. 6, 2009


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Worst Month Since December 1974

by on Dec. 5, 2008


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Oh, what a month! The U.S. lost 533,000 jobs in November, the highest rate in 34 years (since 1974). This moves the nation’s unemployment rate to 6.7%; it was 6.5% in October.

According to fresh Labor Department data, economists had actually predicted a 6.8% unemployment rate for November — yet they only predicted that 320,000 jobs would be slashed.

Either way, this is bad news across the board: construction employment was down by 82,000 over the month; retail trade employment fell by 91,000 in November, with the largest job loss among automobile dealers (-24,000); and leisure and hospitality employment lost 76,000 jobs in November.

If you’re looking to transition to a niche recruiting business, perhaps healthcare is where you should look. In contrast to most industries, healthcare added 34,000 jobs in November and has increased by 341,000 so far this year. According to BLS data, the November gain reflected jobs added in nursing and residential care facilities, hospitals, and physicians’ offices.

So, what’s your niche? If it’s not healthcare (or going to be healthcare one of these days), what is your speciality and how are you faring in the face of this recession?

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