The U.S. job market started this year, 2015, very strong with job openings jumping to 14-year high, with more than 140 million total non farm payroll jobs, and weekly unemployment claims declining to 4-year low of less than 290,000 claims per month. As the supply of talent is shrinking (labor force participation rate at its lowest since 1978 and recent college grads are not meeting expectations,) the demand for talent is rising (46% of jobs posted in 2014 were for newly created positions and open jobs were 5,000,000 on last day of November 2014). Source: A Recruiter's Roadmap to Hiring Success.
How is the job market unfolding this year? Below is a collection of articles showing the job market conditions and the recruiting lanscape for the first quarter of 2015.
Eight Takeaways from the March Jobs Report – BloombergView - @BloombergView
The jobs gained and lost, unemployment percentage, and change in take-home pay shown in the jobs report are a barometer of the US economy, and this article approaches the jobs report with this view in mind. The article breaks the report down into eight main takeaways primarily centered on the major economic benchmarks revealed in the report, including employment growth and momentum, unemployment rate, wage growth, and equity market. While the article doesn’t go into detail regarding the specific jobs most in demand, the information it presents is a great bird’s eye view of the job market as a whole.
Don’t Angst Too Much Over One Weak Jobs Report – The Wall Street Journal - @wsjecon
The employment market slowed down a lot over the last month, according to the March jobs report. New hires increased by about half of what was expected, and were way down from the fourth quarter of 2014. This article tells you why you shouldn’t be too worried. It points out reasonable causes for the slowdown, including that falling oil prices have resulted in job losses in industries that support mining, including some branches of engineering and petroleum product developers. It also points out positive news, including that job openings in January were at a multiyear high and companies who employ low-salary workers have announced pay raises. The basic message is simple: don’t despair quite yet.
March Revisions Yield Sup-Par U.S. Jobs Report – Bloomberg Business – @business
While the April job growth was good (the economy added 223,000 jobs in the month of April), the March jobs report was revised down, with the number of jobs added now stated to be 85,000 instead of the 126,000 previously reported. With the change, the job report appears weaker than the 223,000 number initially suggests. This article provides both a deep and wide view into the current state of the labor market itself and how it is interacting with the economy, looking at the jobs gained and lost within specific sectors including construction, mining, professional services, trade, and transportation
To the relief of many, the April jobs report showed the job growth that was missing in March. This article gave an overview of the total number of jobs gained, measured it against the predicted numbers, and highlighted the sectors that were adding jobs. Professional and business services, healthcare, and construction all showed strong job growth, while mining continued to lose jobs. It also provided analysis of possible reasons behind the growth and decline in those particular sectors and in the job market as a whole, centering on the continually low oil prices and increasing value of the dollar in international markets.
Good News: U.S. economy adds 223,000 jobs – CNNMoney – @CNNMoney
The U.S. economy added 223,000 jobs in April, which added strength to the hope that the weak job gains of March, which added on 85,000 jobs over the month, was at least in part due to the terrible weather. The unemployment rate dipped a percent to 5.4%, and stock market rose over the positive reports. A major takeaway from the article is included in a section called “Where the jobs are” which describes which job sectors added and lost jobs over the month. The article concludes with an analysis of the reasons behind the recent slower job growth, and how this month’s report is likely to affect the chances that the Fed will raise interest rates soon.
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