As 2018 comes to a close, we’re able to look back on the job market this year and observe a remarkably strong year for businesses and workers. As of October, the unemployment rate remained at 3.7 from prior month.  And across the whole year, the unemployment rate and number of unemployed individuals fell by 0.4 percentage point to and 449,000 respectively, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

A Goldman Sachs recent report suggested the US economy is growing at a rate of 3.5%; or in other words — at twice the rate Goldman themselves forecast this time last year. Impressive reading for sure, but how does it translate into job creation in the U.S. labor market? What new opportunities are set to present themselves? And how easy will it be for businesses to find the right new hires as we move into 2019?

The talent acquisition space has undergone a variety of challenges within the last few years. Many of these challenges were brought by rapid advances in technology. Others emerged from an economy on the rise, with jobs increasing and top talent becoming more fiercely contested.

Employers competed to recruit top talent and hired more employees last month according to April jobs report. In this week’s RPOA Weekly we present a roundup of reports and analysis of the current job market to give you an understanding of the recruiting and hiring environment employers currently work with.  

The March jobs report is out, giving a snapshot of the state of employment in the United States. This episode of the RPOA Weekly presents articles from the New York Times, Forbes, Bloomberg and MarketWatch covering what the numbers mean for the economy, the Fed, and employers.

The nearly-full employment rate of the U.S. economy, presents a tough challenge for employers looking for candidates in general, but particularly those who are looking for in-demand talent. Unemployment rate has fallen steadily in the past few years – in fact, in December 2016, the U.S. labor market experienced its 75^th consecutive month of job growth, and the unemployment rate was at pre-recession levels of 4.7%.

How do you compete for top talent in an economy where candidates are in the driver seat? In this week’s #AskAnRPOExpert, we’re continuing our discussion with Newton Talent’s, Patty Silbert on how HR can best adapt to the present job market from a talent acquisition point of view.

Related: Adapting Your HR Strategy to A Changing Job Market with Patty Silbert

According to CNN Money and the U.S. December Jobs Report, December, 2016 marked the 75th consecutive month of job gains, the longest streak on record. With the jobs market running hot, many companies are struggling to fill certain positions amidst the challenges of shrinking qualified candidate pools, rapidly evolving technology and shift in candidate selectivity.

The U.S. job market closed the year strong but future expectations are unclear. December Job Report confirmed a continuing positive trend: the U.S. labor market experienced 75th consecutive months of job gains, the best on record, and the year 2016 ended with over 2 million new jobs. In this week’s RPOA weekly, we share a few reviews and analysis on December job report and what it means for the U.S. labor market and the economy.

Candidates, rejoice – currently, there are an estimated 6 million jobs available in the United States. This number is only expected to grow, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics projecting that 20.5 million jobs will be added to the economy between 2010 and 2020, with an additional 33.7 million job openings becoming available as employees permanently leave the worker pool.