Job Market Trends
The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index (LEI), seen by economists as a forecaster for the performance of the nation's economy, rose in July for the eleventh month in a row.
The LEI was up 0.3% in July to 128.3 following gains of 0.6% in June and 0.3% in May.
The improvement, according to Conference Board Director of Business Cycles and Growth Research Atman Ozymandias, suggests “the U.S. economy may experience further improvements in economic activity in the second h...
It's now two increases in a row for retail sales.
The Commerce Department reports sales in July, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, came to $478.9 billion -- up 0.6% from June and a surge of 4.2% from the same month a year earlier.
And, as it released its July figures, the government revised its June report to show an advance of 0.3% instead of the 0.2% drop initially reported.
July's increase was led by a sales gain of 1.8% by miscell...
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What seems to be a growing reluctance to announce firings during the holidays, along with a stronger economy, helped December experience the lowest number of monthly job cuts in more than 15 years.
Outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas reports U.S.-based employers announced planned workforce reductions totaling just 23,622 last month, down 24% from November and 28% below the 32,640 terminations announced in December 2014.
Not only was December the lowest j...
It looked good at the start, but then it fizzled.
According to an analysis of non-seasonally adjusted government employment data by outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, holiday hiring by retailers fell short in November and December after getting off to a strong start in October.
The final tally shows seasonal employment gains last year were down 1.2% from 2014, making it the second consecutive year in which holiday hires declined.
Retail employment grew ...
While the nation's job-producing machinery is still running well, there's been something of a slowdown that continued into April.
The ADP National Employment Report finds private-sector employment increased by 156,000 jobs last month, following increases of 194,000 and 214,000 in March and February, respectively.
The report, produced by ADP in collaboration with Moody's Analytics is derived from ADP's actual payroll data, measures the change in total nonfarm private emplo...
It won't be long before college students will be lining up by the thousands to receive their diplomas -- and then start the search for gainful employment.
As these three million young adults with freshly-minted associate or bachelor’s degrees enter what's called “the real world,” they should be in pretty good shape as far as job prospects go.
According to outplacement consultancy firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the employment outlook for the class of 2017 is on par wit...
Following a slight (-0.2%) decline in May, The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index (LEI) rose 0.3% in June. The index was up 0.5% in April.
“Improvements in initial claims for unemployment insurance, building permits, and financial indicators were the primary drivers,” said Ataman Ozyildirim, Director of Business Cycles and Growth Research at The Conference Board. “While the LEI continues to point to moderating economic growth in the U.S. through the end of 2016, t...
There 's been a slight uptick in the percentage of job seekers moving for new employment in the first half of the year.
Outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas reports that in the first two quarters of 2016, an average of 11.3% of job seekers have relocated for new positions. The relocation rate reached 12% in the second quarter -- the highest percentage since the final three months of 2014, when 15% of job seekers found work in new towns.
“The number of met...
For the third time in as many months, the manufacturing sector of the economy was expanding in May.
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reports the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), which tracks the manufacturing sector, registered 53.1% last month -- up 0.5% from April. A reading above 50% indicates the manufacturing economy is generally expanding; below 50% suggests contraction.
The overall economy, meanwhile, grew for the 84th consecutive month.
Within the PMI, The ...
On the surface, the report looks good when you consider that the unemployment rate dropped 0.3% last month to 4.7%.
However, the economy created just 38,000 jobs in May, and the Department of Labor (DOL) revised the April and March job creation level down by a combined 56,000 positions.
In addition, the civilian labor force participation rate fell by 0.2% in May and has declined by 0.4% over the past 2 months, offsetting gains in the first quarter. The employment-populati...
The non-manufacturing, or services sector of the economy continued to grow in May, although pace of expansion was slower.
The Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) reports sector registered 52.9% last month -- down 2.8% from April. However, it was the 76th consecutive month of expansion.
A reading above 50 indicates an expansion, while below that suggests contraction.
The Non-Manufacturing Index (NMI) dropped 3.7% to 55.1%, the New Orders Index registered 54.2% -- 5.7% l...
Looking for a job this year?
According to CareerBuilder’s annual job forecast, 36% of employers plan to add full-time, permanent employees in 2016 -- the same as 2015. Additionally, nearly half of employers (47%) plan to hire temporary or contract workers.
The forecast says workers can also expect to see higher starting salaries, more teens in internships, more women and minorities in leadership, and more opportunities to move from low-skill to high-skill jobs, among oth...
There were fewer new jobs in October than in September, with the overall pace of job creation continuing to decline.
The Department of Labor (DOL) reports total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 161,000 last month, with the unemployment rate holding at 4.9%.
As it released its October report, the government said the September job total was revised to show a gain of 191,000, rather than the 156,000 initially reported.
Even with that change, though, employment growth has av...
Teenagers are finding jobs this summer, but not as many as they used to.
According to an analysis of the latest government data by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, employment among 16- to 19-year-olds increased by 156,000 in May -- a drop of 14% from last year.
Over the previous five years an average of 1,259,200 teens were added to the workforce between May 1 and July 31. While May typically experiences the smallest hiring gains of the three-month period, ...
After slipping below 200,000 in October, the pace of private sector job creation got back on track last month.
According to the ADP National Employment Report, employment increased by 217,000 jobs last month, with small businesses leading the way.
The report, produced by ADP in collaboration with Moody's Analytics, shows payrolls for businesses with 49 or fewer employees increased by 81,000 jobs in November, down 10,000 from October. Employment among companies with 50-499...
Job openings rose to a record high in April, while both the number of hires and separations was lower.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports there were 6.044 million openings on the final day of the month, up 259,000 from the upwardly revised 5.783 million the month before for a job openings rate of 4.0%.
The number of job openings in the private sector was up by 220,000, while government openings rose by 39,000. The accommodation and food services industry saw an ...
The non-manufacturing, or services, sector of the U.S. economy grew for an 89th consecutive month in May.
However, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reports the Non-Manufacturing Index expanded at a slower rate last month -- 56.9%, down 0.6% from the April reading.
Fifty is the line that separates expansion from contraction.
The report from the nation’s purchasing and supply executives also shows the Non-Manufacturing Business Activity Index was down 1.7% to 60.7%,...