labor market update (march 2017)

UNITED STATES LABOR MARKET UPDATEPREPARED BY: MONSTER INSIGHTS | MARCH 2017

Growth has averaged about 2% a year since 2010, fueled by a surge in hiring that has reduced the unemployment rate to an eight-year low

U.S. LABOR MARKET UPDATE

• U.S. adds 235,000 new jobs in February signaling steady growth ahead• The unemployment rate dipped slightly to 4.7% mostly because more people were

looking for work and fewer people gave up looking for work• The labor force participation rate ticked up slightly to 63.0% • The size of the labor force was increased by 340,000 people• 4th-quarter GDP slowed to an annual rate of 1.9%, primarily due to a wider trade deficit• Average wages rose 0.2% to $26.09 an hour last month as companies pay more to

attract or maintain talent

U.S. JOB REPORT HEADLINES: FEB 2017

“America's Labor Market Is Getting Better by Almost Any Measure”– Bloomberg

“President Trump's First Jobs Report Crushes Expectations” – Business Insider

“US created 235,000 jobs in Feb, vs 190,000 expected” - CNBC

“Strong job growth makes Fed rate hike almost certain”- USA Today

“Steady U.S. Job Growth Sets Stage for Fed to Raise Interest Rates”- New York Times

“US added 235K jobs in February, making Fed rate hike likely”- Washington Post

U.S. CURRENT EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: FEB 2017

Change from January 2017Total non-farm payroll: +235,000Private-sector payroll: +227,000• Construction +58K• Professional/Business Services

+37K• Manufacturing +28K• Healthcare +27K• Leisure/Hospitality +26K• Transportation +9K• Finance +7K• Retail -26KTemporary Help: +3,000Government: +8,000

160MM IN THE U.S. WORKFORCE

7.5MM UNEMPLOYED PEOPLE IN THE U.S.

5.5MM AVAILABLE JOBS IN THE U.S.

+1.9% U.S. GDP IN Q4 2016 (Second Estimate)

63.0% U.S. LABOR PARTICIPATION RATE

4.7% U.S. UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

U.S. CIVILIAN WORKFORCE

In February 2017, the number of people in the U.S. who had jobs or were seeking employment amounted to 160.1 million; an increase of 340,000 (+0.2%) from January and remained higher than the year prior, an increase of 1.2 million (+0.7%).

The size of the labor force has increased by 226,000 people in the past five months.

The Labor Force (aka Workforce) is the sum of employed and unemployed persons in the U.S.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

U.S. UNEMPLOYED WORKFORCE

The U.S. unemployment dipped to 4.7% in February 2017. The unemployment rate peaked in October 2009 at 10.0% and is now 5.3 percentage points lower.

The number of unemployed people in the U.S. is now 7,528,000 a decrease of 107,000 (-1.4%) from January and lower than the year prior, a decrease of 317,000 (-1.4%).


U.S. EMPLOYMENT (NON-FARM)

The U.S. created 235,000 new jobs in February 2017 (+0.2%) from January. Job creation reflects the 77th consecutive month of job gains. Over the year jobs increased by 2.3 million (+1.6%)

The US has added an average of 196,000 jobs each month over the past 12-months.

New jobs increased by 916,000 jobs in the past five months.


U.S. TEMPORARY HELP EMPLOYMENT


There were nearly 3.0 million temporary help jobs in the U.S. in February 2017. The number of persons employed in U.S. temporary help jobs increased by 3,100 (+0.1%) jobs over the month and rose by 91,000 (+3.2%) from the year prior.

Temporary help services employment has traditionally been viewed as a leading economic indicator to overall employment or the general economy.

The temporary help services industry is the largest component of the staffing industry and is comprised of companies that employ workers to do temporary work on the premises of, and under the supervision of, customers.

U.S. JOB OPENINGS

There were 5.5 million job openings on the last business day of December 2016, a slight decrease of 4,000 jobs (-0.1%). Job openings rose by 220,000 jobs (+4.2%) since the year prior.

The number of quits was little changed in December at about 3.0 million. The quits rate dipped from 2.1% to 2.0%.

The quits rate is a proxy for worker confidence as willingness to leave a job usually indicates a better job is on the horizon.


UPDATE/DELETE

U.S. LABOR PARTICIPATION RATE

The U.S. labor force participation ticked up to 63.0% in February. The participation rate peaked in 2000 at 67.3%. Participation was at a post-peak low of 62.4% in September 2015 and is currently 0.6 percentage points higher.

The participation rate measures the active portion of the labor force; the number of people who are either employed or are actively looking for work.


U.S. GDP

The U.S. Real GDP was $16,804.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2016. Real GDP increased at an annual rate of 1.9% (second estimate), down from an increase of 3.5% in the third quarter but up from 0.9% a year ago.

Real GDP is 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.

Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis

U.S. AVERAGE HOURLY EARNINGS


Average hourly earnings increased +0.2% to $26.09 an hour in February pushing the annual gain in 2016 to 2.8%.

Average Hourly Earnings is the average amount employees make per hour in a given month. In other words, it the price businesses pay for labor.

The Federal Reserve uses average hourly earnings in deciding whether to raise or lower interest rates.

U.S. BEVERIDGE CURVE

Job openings continue to climb, yet unemployment remains higher than pre-recession levels.

In December 2016, the job openings rate was 3.6% and the unemployment rate was 4.7%.

The job openings rate corresponds to a higher unemployment rate than it did before the most recent recession.

From 2010 to today, nearly each month’s point moved up and to the left as the job openings rate increased and the unemployment rate decreased.


labor market update (march 2017)

Recruiting & HR