On Friday February 2nd, the U.S. Labor Department released their January Employment Report. This month crushes expectations in job creation, with 353,000 new payrolls created.
With unemployment remaining steady at 3.7% and open jobs continuing to exceed available workers by nearly 3 million, recruitment and retention remain top of mind for business owners.
Key Insights:
The February Employment report revealed 353,000 new payrolls created, nearly doubling the expected 185,000. There were gains across all categories except mining and logging with a drop of 6,000. Private education and health services saw the largest gains so employers should expect to see even tougher competition than previous months with candidates in those industries. This report shows the most payrolls added since January of 2023.
Additionally, the Department of Labor amended their previous two reports by adding 127,000 new payrolls to their counts.
The unemployment rate remained unchanged from previous months though there was expected growth of 0.1%. Labor Force participation rate also remained unchanged after a decline in December 2023. Additionally, the gap between open jobs and available workers remains steady at 2.9 million, continuing to favor job seekers and present challenges for employers.
The employment report for January crushed expectations in payroll growth and showed steady unemployment rates. This as a reminder that retaining and recruiting top talent in this market remains a challenge. With a 2.9 million gap between open jobs and available workers, if you need talent to serve your clients or grow your business the time to start searching is NOW!
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