Job Market Trends
Retail sales dipped in August -- the first decline in five months.
According to the Commerce Department, sales were off 0.3% last month at $456.3 billion. As it released the report for last month, the government revised its July figures to show a sales gain of 0.1%. The previous months sales had been reported as showing virtually no change.
On a year-over-year basis, sales in August were up 1.9%.
The biggest positive influences came from food services & drinking places (+0....
Employment experts aren't expecting much in the way of hiring in the retail sector for this year's Christmas shopping season.
Outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas predicts hiring by retailers will show little change from last year when seasonal employment in the sector increased by 738,800 during the final three months of the year. That was down 1.4% from 2014, according to employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
That doesn't mean nobod...
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The final look at the economy for the third quarter was generally dissatisfying.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reports the "third"estimate of real gross domestic product (GDP) -- the value of the goods and services produced by the nation’s economy less the value of the goods and services used up in production, adjusted for price changes -- increased at an annual rate of 2.0% after growing 2.1% in the “second” estimate and 3.9% in the second quarter.
All told, that...
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 ...
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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...
We've seen growth for six years in a row for the non-manufacturing sector of the economy.
The latest Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Non-Manufacturing Report On Business put out the nation's supply executive and purchasing managers say the Non-manufacturing Index (NMI) registered 53.5% in January, down 2.3% from December. That's the lowest level in two years, but the 72nd consecutive month of growth.
The New Orders Index was down 2.4% to 56.5%, the Employment Index ...
Another 151,000 people found work in January, well below the pace of December in which 262,000 jobs were created. That December figure, by the way, was revised down by 30,000 from the initial estimate. Economists at Briefing.com had projected the creation of 188,000 jobs.
In its report, the Department of Labor (DOL) also said the unemployment rate inched down 0.1% to 4.9%.
Job gains occurred in several industries, including retail trade (+58,000), food services and drinki...
Consumers continued to spend in May, sending retail sales up for a second consecutive month.
The Census Bureau reports sales were up 0.5% last month totaling $455.6 billion. That's a gain of 2.4% from the same month a year ago.
May's month-over-month advance was led by sales at gas stations (+2.1%), nonstore retailers and sporting goods (+1.3%), hobby, book, & music stores (+1.3%), and food services and drinking places (+0.8%). On a year-over-year basis, sales soared at n...
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...
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...
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, ...
The nation's jobless rate rose 0.2% in June to 4.9%, as another 347,000 people found themselves out of work, according to figures released by the Department of Labor (DOL).
At the same time, the economy created another 287,000 jobs last month, mostly in leisure and hospitality, health care and social assistance, and financial activities.
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult women (4.5%) and Whites (4.4%) rose in June. The rates for adult men (4....
Retail sales bounced back in October from September's decline -- the first in 8 months.
The Census Bureau reports sales were up a seasonally adjusted $444.5 billion or 0.3% from the
previous month, and were 4.1% above October the same period a year ago.
Contributing to the advance were sales at Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores (+1.2), food services and drinking places (+0.9%) and health and personal care stores (+0.7%). Auto sales rose 0.5% after falling 1.1% ...
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...