Bob Marshall’s January 2016 BLS Analysis for Recruiters; 2/5/16
January BLS Preface
TBMG Coaching Updates and News
Bob Marshall – Training/Coaching Updates:
Mike Gionta’s Seventh Annual Recruiting Firm Owner Telesummit, March 23, 2016
On March 23rd, at 1pm, Eastern Time, I will be presenting at Mike Gionta’s 7th Annual Recruiting Firm Owner Telesummit. Keep an eye on your inbox for further details.
The exact title of my presentation will be determined at a later date.
Top Echelon, Free Recruiter Training Webinar, May 10, 2016
My next Top Echelon presentation will be on Tuesday afternoon, May 10, 2016, at 1pm, Eastern Time.
The exact title of my presentation will be determined at a later date.
The Nebraska Association of Personnel Consultants (NAPC) Fall Seminar, Omaha, Nebraska, September 23, 2016
I will be presenting to the NAPC Fall Seminar on Friday, September 23rd, 2016, in Omaha, Nebraska. My presentations will run from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. The titles of the presentations will include: “3 Proven Methods to landing New Clients”; “How to Inject Urgency into the Candidate”; and “How to Inject Urgency into the Hiring Process”.
* Special Nebraska Note: For those of you in the Omaha area, if you are interested in my in-office training (individual and desk-level) and are available for that training during the weeks of September 19th and/or September 26th, please let me know for a special offer. Since I will be in Omaha for my NAPC presentation, I will offer a 50% discount on my usual fees and no charge for my airfare. First come, first served, so contact me for specific details as soon as possible. Thanks!
Taking the first step…
Over 35 years ago I began a career that turned out to be the most dynamic and rewarding professional move I have ever made. With the opportunity to earn an unlimited income at my fingertips, I began my career as a Recruiter.
Soon I became a student of the business and transitioned into Coaching. I traveled extensively and learned and listened and I packaged my material in a unique way. I studied many of the top producers in the recruiting industry and developed a series of training tools based on their proven success—training techniques that work time and time again.
I developed these tools and coaching techniques to help others achieve their goals as top producing professional recruiters. I continue to base all of my coaching and training tools on the same “nuts and bolts” approach I used as a recruiter.
I realize that taking that first step to engage a Coach to help you reach a higher level of production is not as easy as it sounds. After all, your training investment – and your time – are important and deserve every consideration. I share your feelings. I believe that how you approach your recruitment career matters…that you should get what you pay for, and then some…that you should enjoy your time with your Coach as you are benefiting from it…and that you should never settle for the ordinary.
If you are ready to take the first step, you can read descriptions of my coaching plans, and all of my products, on my website @ www.themarshallplan.org. Then, call me directly at 770-898-5550 or email me @ bob@themarshallplan.org.
Preface
Many of you continue to correspond with me about these monthly BLS analyses and have asked if it is OK to use them in your presentations. The answer is, of course, yes! That is why I spend the time to assemble this information. I would encourage any of you who have that desire to weave any of the information I have printed below into your presentations. I write these analyses for the benefit of our recruitment industry in general and for the members of my distribution list in particular. So use this info as you deem appropriate.
I also write these monthly BLS analyses to not only counterbalance the negative/incorrect press reporting of our general economic state but, more than that, to remind all of my recruitment readers that, at the level we work, there is no unemployment and so we must recruit to find the candidates our client companies so desperately need!
So, to my recruiter colleagues, get out there and do what your name implies…RECRUIT! When your client companies have unique and difficult positions to fill, they need you. When they are being picky, they need you. When they are longing for more production from fewer employees, they need you. Go fill those needs. These should be the halcyon days in the recruitment arena!
Finally, always remember that we are not in an HR business, but in a ‘circumventing the time factor in the hiring sequence’ business—and adding value to our client companies.
U.S. economy grinds to near halt at end of 2015
Patrick Gillespie, CNNMoney, January 29, 2016
America lost its momentum at the end of 2015.
The U.S. economy only grew 0.7% between October and December. It’s the slowest pace since the first quarter of 2015, when the economy grew at a 0.6% pace as parts of the country battled with blizzards and businesses shutting down.
For the year, the U.S. economy grew 2.4% in 2015, matching the gains made in 2014.
The slowdown in the last three months of 2015 is more worrisome. A global economic slowdown appears to be finally weighing heavily on the American economy. Despite a strong job market, other signs point to slowing growth.
American manufacturing, which makes up 10% of the economy, is in a recession and the industry’s key index, ISM, has declined for 6 straight months. Consumer spending was negative or flat for 7 out of 12 months last year.
The country’s biggest corporations are also watching sales and profits decline as overseas business is hurt by the strong dollar, falling oil prices and uncertainty over China’s economy.
“The slowdown in the rest of the world and the strength of the dollar is certainly impacting U.S. growth right now,” said Lee Ferridge, head of macro strategy North America at State Street Global Markets.
There are other signs of how cautious consumers have become. The personal savings rate released Friday ticked up to 5.4% in December compared to 5.2% in November. When savings go up, it shows that consumers are more reluctant to spend, reflecting their concerns about the economy’s future.
That reluctance showed up at the cash register. One measure of consumer spending — personal consumption expenditures — was nearly flat in the 4th quarter.
Friday’s low figure will likely stoke more debate about the possibility of an American recession in 2016. In any year, there’s about a 10% chance of recession, but some banks, such as Morgan Stanley, estimate there’s a 20% chance the economy dives south this year.
Still, it’s worth remembering that America has been growing jobs at a healthy pace, offering some hope that consumers will start spending soon and offer respite from the overseas headwinds. Unemployment is down to a healthy 5%.
“While the global economy will be a headwind to growth, the consumer will pick up a bit,” says Michael Materasso, senior vice president at Franklin Templeton.
Hiring managers still choosy despite skill shortage, Kelly says
Daily News, January 28, 2016
Hiring managers believe there is a talent shortage among professional and technical skills, but they remain choosy about hiring, according to a new survey released by Kelly Services Inc.
The survey found 37% of hiring managers report professional and technical candidates they interview are under-qualified for the position.
Included in the survey were 1,000 professional and technical hiring managers in the US and Canada representing the accounting/finance, engineering, healthcare, IT and science/clinical sectors.
“Our survey results indicate that nearly half the hiring managers currently perceive a professional and technical talent shortage and most expect there to be long-term shortages for the skill sets and disciplines that they hire,” said Dan Turner, VP of strategic accounts and operations – recruitment at Kelly Services.
The skills gap is most acute in engineering and healthcare with IT coming next.
Despite the skills gap, professional and technical hiring managers are still choosy and evaluating candidates on such dimensions as cultural fit with 69% saying that is an important assessment of candidates.
“The recent [professional and technical] Hiring Manager survey also indicates, that in terms of skills, hiring managers are most challenged with finding candidates that have the right mix of hard skills and universal soft skills — including the ability to listen and comprehend, a sense of personal accountability, and a strong, positive attitude,” Turner said.
The survey also found:
• 65% know within 15 minutes if someone is the right fit or not.
• 73% say being on time, polite and well-groomed are essential for candidates to put their best foot forward.
• 74% say candidates need to be able to articulate their personal accomplishments and weaknesses.
• 85% say acting arrogant or not grateful for an interview would prevent a candidate from advancing to the next stage.
• 82% say inappropriate use of a mobile phone or texting during the interview would likely end a candidate’s chance of success.
• 66% say candidates should be informed about the company’s key products and services to improve their odds of success.
• Nearly half stressed improving both the quality and quantity of questions that candidates ask during the interview process would improve their odds of success.
Tech salaries up a record 8% in 2015, survey finds
Daily News, January 27, 2016
Average US technology salaries rose 7.7% in 2015 to $96,370, according to a salary survey released today by job board operator Dice Holdings Inc. This was the biggest year-over-year increase since the annual survey launched more than 10 years ago.
37% of tech professionals reported receiving a bonus last year, unchanged from 2014. However, the average bonus in 2015 rose 7% year over year to $10,194.
Contract workers saw hourly compensation rise 5% to $70.26 per hour. Tech contractors working in industrial/chemical, professional services, healthcare and utilities/energy segments were paid higher than overall tech contract rates.
More than half, 62%, of technology professionals, earned higher salaries in 2015, with 38% receiving a merit increase and 10% receiving an internal promotion. Another 23% of professionals reported their rise in salary was a result of changing employers.
Tech salaries in 7 metro areas reached 6-figures for the first time since the survey began. Already posting average salaries over $100,000, tech pros in Silicon Valley were again the highest paid in the country. Minneapolis, which is not traditionally-recognized as a tech city, also made the list. The top metros by salary and year-over-year increase are:
1. Silicon Valley: $118,242, +5.0%
2. New York: $106,263, +11.2%
3. Los Angeles: $105,091, +10.2%
4. Boston: $103,675, +6.6%
5. Seattle: $103,309, +3.9%
6. Baltimore/Washington DC: $102,873, +4.6%
7. Minneapolis: + $100,379, 9.3%
Big data and cloud continued to dominate the skills which earn the highest paychecks in 2015. Newcomers such as HANA, OpenStack, CloudStack and Puppet appeared in the top 10 highest paid skills for the first time:
1. HANA: $154,749
2. Cassandra: $147,811
3. Cloudera: $142,835
4. PAAS: $140,894
5. OpenStack: $138,579
6. CloudStack: $138,095
7. Chef: $136,850
8. Pig: $132,850
9. MapReduce: $131,563
10. Puppet: $131,121
“The competition for tech talent today is undeniable. Demand for skilled talent and low unemployment rates for tech professionals aren’t making the hiring landscape any easier,” said Dice President Bob Melk. “Employers realize offering competitive pay is a necessity. What’s promising is the tech industry recognizes the need to fill open seats as well as to reward tech talent for their hard work.”
The Dice salary survey was administered online with 16,301 employed technology professionals responding between Oct. 6 and Nov. 25, 2015.
Job gains in 2015 were strong, but …
CNBC, Fred Imbert, January 11, 2016
The U.S. economy may not have fared as well in 2015 as job growth numbers would indicate.
Total employment in the U.S. rose by 2,450,000, marking the 3rd straight year with more than 2,000,000 jobs gained, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The year ended on a high note, adding 292,000 jobs in December, easily beating consensus estimates.
The last time the U.S. economy added more than 2,000,000 jobs 3 years in a row was between 1997 & 1999.
However, many jobs created in 2015 in the U.S. came from low-paying sectors, particularly retail, professional services and food services.
In fact, 1,160,000 — or 47.2% — of the jobs added by the U.S. economy came from those 3 sectors, leading to wages rising at a slow pace. Hourly wages climbed 1.94% in 2015 and have not risen by 2% or more since 2012, BLS data show.
Also weighing on wage growth is stalling jobs expansion within manufacturing, once considered one of the hallmarks of the U.S. economy.
Manufacturing jobs grew by just 13,000 in 2015, remaining essentially flat, as the sector struggled to stay afloat. The sector contracted in November and December and had been slowing down since June, according to the Institute of Supply Management.
“Bottom line, while the headline print [for December manufacturing] was a bit weaker than expected, the softness wasn’t that much different than seen in November. That said, it does reinforce the challenges currently being faced by the manufacturing sector which is arguably in a recession for reasons we all know (stronger dollar, economic weakness in China and the rest of Asia),” Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst at The Lindsey Group, said in a note.
Steve Blitz, chief economist at ITG Investment research, told CNBC “that is likely the area of weakest jobs growth this year. … There is nothing today that suggests that is going to change.”
Blitz also noted that financial services, another high-paying sector, would likely see little growth in jobs. “I’m not particularly optimistic about high-wage jobs, particularly in the financial sector, because a lot of those jobs are tied to mortgages,” he said.
Another high-paying sector weighing on wage growth in the U.S. was oil and gas extraction, which saw the number of jobs decline by nearly 15,000 in 2015, or about 7.5%. Last year also marked the first one-year jobs contraction within the sector since 2009, when positions fell by about 10,000, or 6%.
The oil and gas business has been hit by a sharp decline in crude prices, which has been triggered by massive oversupply within the market.
The slowdown in jobs growth within oil, as well as in other high-paying sectors, raises questions as to whether the Fed will be able to justify raising rates 4 times this year, Blitz said. “I don’t see that kind of data.”
Multitasking: Put on Your Sourcing Hat When You’re Reference Checking
Ray Bixler, CEO, SkillSurvey, January 12, 2016
Staffing and recruiting companies are busier now than ever before. The economy is continuing to grow and a new wave of millennials are entering the workforce. The upcoming college graduating class is entering the hottest demand for new talent in a generation. As the volume of candidates increases, so will the effort from recruiters to source them.
LinkedIn now has more than 20,000 recruiters on its site and that number will continue to grow. Clearly, the competition for sourcing new talent has moved from fierce to ferocious. At the same time, companies, fearful that their top talent may be poached, have stopped publishing online corporate directories, which means recruiters spend hours dialing through phone systems and must be experts in Boolean search to find relevant candidates from social channels.
The question now is: how does a recruiter go above and beyond the competition in keeping an eye on top talent? The answer may be to start paying more attention to references. Think about it, when you’re connecting with references to verify a candidate’s background, it’s really a great opportunity to put on your sourcing hat because you’re also connecting with potential passive candidates.
Most Employees Consider Themselves Passive Candidates
LinkedIn’s 2015 Global Recruiting Trends report noted that “while three quarters of professionals consider themselves ‘passive,’ only 61% of companies recruit passive candidates.” So, while only 25% of the workforce is actively looking for a job at any given time, 75% of the workforce is willing to talk about a potential new job. This means that the talent pool could be much deeper and wider than any of us thought.
LinkedIn’s 2016 report advises that social professional networks provide the best sources of quality hires. One way organizations can tap into new professional networks is through reference checking. Combine the reference checking process with technology, and recruiters can expand that pool of candidates exponentially.
Not only do these solutions help organizations speed reference checking, improve hiring quality, and reduce turnover – they also help them build a pool of passive candidates. And as more recruiters are adapting to the changing human resources landscape and increased use of technology, they are discovering that they are able to gather better data faster while reaching a greater number of references. They are also accruing valuable information, not just about active candidates, but about passive candidates as well, with options that engage references to opt-in to being contacted about opportunities and who’ve provided up to date contact and job history information.
The Magic of Multitasking: You’re Not Just Reference Checking
Creative recruiters need to not only engage with high quality talent, they also need to use their time and resources efficiently.
Talent attracts talent. References, whose contact information is recorded in these online reference checking solutions, generally come from the same industry and job focus area as the candidate that they are evaluating. This is especially beneficial for hard-to-fill or niche positions like those in technology, engineering, or healthcare. With reference data managed though these solutions, recruiters and organizations have a new means of tracking targeted talent, and at a much faster rate. For example, if 100 candidates each submit 5 references, which is the number of references who participate in these technologies and much higher than when reference checking is done via the phone, and over 25% opt-in to be contacted for future opportunities, you’ve gained at least 125 potential new candidates.
As companies struggle to hire more qualified candidates at a faster clip, they will have to find new, diverse ways to source candidates. Looking to the references who recommended current high performing employees is a great place to start.
Newsflash from the December ‘Jobs’ Report—–The US Economy Is Dead In the Water
David Stockman, January 9, 2016
Here’s a newsflash that CNBC didn’t mention. According to the BLS, the US economy generated a miniscule 11,000 jobs in the month of December.
Yet notwithstanding the fact that almost nobody works outdoors any more, the BLS fiction writers added 281,000 to their headline number to cover the “seasonal adjustment.” This is done on the apparent truism that December is generally colder than November and that workers get holiday vacations.
Of course, this December was much warmer, not colder, than average. And that’s not the only deviation from normal seasonal trends.
The Christmas selling season this year, for example, was absolutely not comparable to the ghosts of Christmas past. Bricks and mortar retail is in turmoil and in secular decline due to Amazon and its e-commerce ilk, and this trend is accelerating by the year.
So too, energy and export based sectors have been thrown for a loop in the last few months by a surging dollar and collapsing commodity prices. Likewise, construction activity has been so weak in this cycle—-and for the good reason that both commercial and residential stock is vastly overbuilt owing to two decades of cheap credit—–that it’s not remotely comparable to historic patterns.
Never mind. The BLS always adds the same big dollop of jobs to the December establishment survey come hell or high water. In fact, the seasonal adjustment has averaged 320,000 for the last 12 years!
For crying out loud, folks, every December is different—–and not just because of the vagaries of the weather. Capitalism is about incessant change and reallocation of economic activity and resources. And now the globalized ebbs and flows of economic activity have only accentuated the rate and intensity of these adjustments.
Yet the statistical wizards at the BLS think they can approximate a seasonal adjustment factor for December that at +/- 300,000 amounts to just 0.2% of the currently reported 144,200,000 establishment survey jobs, and an even smaller fraction of the potential adult work force which is at least 165,000,000.
But that’s a pretentious stab in the dark. The December seasonal adjustment (SA) could just as easily be 0.3% of the job base or 0.1%, depending upon the specific point in the business cycle and structural trends roiling the economy.
Indeed, these brackets alone would vary the headline SA number by 150,000 to 450,000. The fact that the seasonal adjustment factor for December has oscillated tightly around 300,000 for the last 12 years proves only one thing—–namely, that the bureaucrats at the BLS have chosen to invent the same guesstimate year after year; it’s not science, it’s political fiction.
The fact is, the seasonal adjustment factors are about the closest thing there is to pure noise among all the dubious “incoming” data that the Fed and Wall Street obsess over.
Here’s a better take on the matter. We are now in the 78th month since the June 2009 recession bottom, and are reaching the point where this so-called business cycle expansion is getting very long in the tooth by all historical standards.
The new ADP/Moody’s National Employment Report: 79% of all new job growth in January, 2016 came from Small and Mid-size Companies!
February 3, 2016
Private sector employment increased by 205,000 jobs from December to January (an decrease from December’s 257,000 additions), according to the January ADP National Employment Report®, which is produced by ADP® in collaboration with Moody’s Analytics. The report, which is derived from ADP’s actual payroll data, measures the change in total nonfarm private employment each month on a seasonally-adjusted basis.
By Company Size
Small businesses: 79,000
1-19 employees 47,000
20-49 employees 32,000
Medium businesses: 82,000
50-499 employees 82,000
Large businesses: 44,000
500-999 employees 15,000
1,000+ employees 30,000
By Sector
Goods producing 13,000
Service providing 192,000
Industry Snapshot
Construction 21,000
Manufacturing 0
Trade/transportation/utilities 35,000
Financial activities 19,000
Professional/business services 44,000
(*Sum of components may not equal total, due to rounding)
Payrolls for businesses with 49 or fewer employees increased by 79,000 jobs in January, down from December’s upwardly revised 101,000. Employment among companies with 50-499 employees increased by 82,000 jobs—up still further from December’s upwardly revised 77,000. Employment at large companies – those with 500 or more employees – came in at 44,000, half of December’s downwardly revised 88,000. Companies with 500-999 added 15,000 jobs, while companies with over 1,000 employees gained 30,000 jobs.
Goods-producing employment rose by 13,000 jobs in January, well off from December’s upwardly revised 30,000. The construction industry added 21,000 jobs, which was roughly in line with the average monthly jobs gained during 2015. Meanwhile, manufacturing neither added nor lost jobs.
Service-providing employment rose by 192,000 jobs in January, down from an upwardly revised 237,000 in December. The report indicates that professional/business services contributed 44,000 jobs, down from 69,000 in December. Trade/transportation/utilities grew by 35,000, up slightly from a downwardly revised 33,000 the previous month. The 19,000 new jobs added in financial activities were the most in that sector since March 2006.
“One of the main reasons for lower overall employment gains in January was the drop off in jobs added at the largest companies compared to December. These businesses are more sensitive to current economic conditions than small and mid-sized companies,” said Ahu Yildirmaz, VP and head of the ADP Research Institute. “Over the past year, businesses with less than 500 employees have created nearly 80% of new jobs.”
Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, said, “Job growth remains strong despite the turmoil in the global economy and financial markets. Manufacturers and energy companies are reducing payrolls, but job gains across all other industries remain robust. The U.S. economy remains on track to return to full employment by mid-year.”
(The February 2016 ADP National Employment Report will be released at 8:15 a.m. ET on March 2, 2016).
Due to the important contribution that small businesses make to economic growth, employment data that are specific to businesses with 49 or fewer employees is reported each month in the ADP Small Business Report®, a subset of the ADP National Employment Report.
January 2016 Small Business Report Highlights
Total Small Business Employment: 79,000
●By Size
►1-19 employees 47,000
►20-49 employees 32,000
●By Sector for 1-49 Employees
►Goods Producing 8,000
►Service Producing 71,000
●By Sector for 1-19 Employees
►Goods Producing 7,000
►Service Producing 41,000
●By Sector for 20-49 Employees
►Goods Producing 2,000
►Service Producing 30,000
Bottom-line: To my audience of recruiters, always remember this: Our ‘bread and butter’, especially on the contingency side of the house, has historically been, and continues to be, small and medium-sized client companies. Along with the large companies, these companies need to be in included in your niche!
Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary – November 2015
On January 12th, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the number of job openings was little changed at 5,400,000 on the last business day of November. Hires and separations were little changed at 5,200,000 and 4,900,000, respectively. Within separations, the quits rate was 2.0%, and the layoffs and discharges rate was 1.2%. This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the nonfarm sector by industry and by four geographic regions.
Job Openings
Job openings were little changed at 5,400,000 in November. The job openings rate was 3.7%. The number of job openings was little changed in November for total private and government. Job openings increased in health care and social assistance (+57,000) and decreased in retail trade (-64,000). In the regions, job openings increased in the South and decreased in the Midwest over the month.
The number of job openings (not seasonally adjusted) increased over the 12 months ending in November for total nonfarm and total private, and was little changed for government. Job openings rose in several industries over the year with the largest changes in health care and social assistance (+242,000) and accommodation and food services (+129,000). Job openings decreased over the year in information (-48,000) and mining and logging (-8,000). The number of job openings increased over the year in the Northeast and South regions.
Hires
The number of hires was 5,200,000 in November, little changed from October. The hires rate was 3.6%. The number of hires was little changed for total private and government in November. There was little change in the number of hires in all industries and regions.
Over the 12 months ending in November, the number of hires (not seasonally adjusted) was little changed for total nonfarm, total private, and government. At the industry level, hires increased in accommodation and food services (+104,000) and educational services (+18,000). Hires decreased in mining and logging (-9,000). Over the year, hires increased in the West region.
Net Change in Employment
Large numbers of hires and separations occur every month throughout the business cycle. Net employment change results from the relationship between hires and separations. When the number of hires exceeds the number of separations, employment rises, even if the hires level is steady or declining. Conversely, when the number of hires is less than the number of separations, employment declines, even if the hires level is steady or rising. Over the 12 months ending in November 2015, hires totaled 61,200,000 and separations totaled 58,600,000, yielding a net employment gain of 2,600,000. These totals include workers who may have been hired and separated more than once during the year.
(The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey results for December 2015 are scheduled to be released on Tuesday, February 9, 2016.)
As we recruiters know, that 5,400,000 number only represents 20% of the jobs currently available in the marketplace. The other 80% of job openings are unpublished and are filled through networking or word of mouth or by using a RECRUITER. So, those 5,400,000 published job openings now become a total of 27,000,000 published and hidden job orders.
In January there were 7,791,000 unemployed workers. What was the main reason why those workers were unemployed? Two Words: Structural Unemployment. If we can’t figure out how to educate and/or reeducate those 7,791,000 unemployed, then they will keep reappearing each month as a BLS unemployment statistic—as they have. In the meantime, our recruitment marketplace flourishes!
Online Labor Demand Increased 13,500 in December
February 3, 2016
• January starts 2016 essentially flat
• Regions and States also show little change
• Note: January data incorporate updated seasonal adjustment factors; February data will incorporate the HWOL annual revisions.
Online advertised vacancies increased 13,500 to 5,496,500 in January, according to The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine® (HWOL) Data Series,. The December Supply/Demand rate stands at 1.44 unemployed for each advertised vacancy with a total of 2,400,000 more unemployed workers than the number of advertised vacancies. The number of unemployed was around 7,900,000 in December.
“January showed a disappointing start for 2016,” said Gad Levanon, Managing Director of Macroeconomic and Labor Market Research at The Conference Board. “Labor demand levels remain very high, but growth has continued to be slow since 2013.”
In January, the Professional category saw large gains in Computer/Math (+29.0) and Healthcare (+24.2) with small gains in most other categories. The Services/Production category saw large losses in Sales (−20.5) and Food (−7.7) with a mixture of small gains/losses in the other categories.
The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine®Data Series (HWOL) measures the number of new, first-time online jobs and jobs reposted from the previous month for over 16,000 Internet job boards, corporate boards and smaller job sites that serve niche markets and smaller geographic areas.
(The February 2016 Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine® (HWOL) Data Series will be released at 10:00 AM ET on Wednesday, March 2, 2016).
U-6 Update
In January, 2016 the regular unemployment number fell to 4.9%, and the broader U-6 measure remained at 9.9%, a little more than twice as high as the regular unemployment figure.
The above 9.9% is referred to as the U6 unemployment rate (found in the monthly BLS Employment Situation Summary, Table A-15; Table A-12 in 2008 and before). It counts not only people without work seeking full-time employment (the more familiar U-3 rate), but also counts “marginally attached workers and those working part-time for economic reasons.” Note that some of these part-time workers counted as employed by U-3 could be working as little as an hour a week. And the “marginally attached workers” include those who have gotten discouraged and stopped looking, but still want to work. The age considered for this calculation is 16 year and over.
Here is a look at the January U-6 numbers for the past 13 years:
January 2015 11.3%
January 2014 12.7%
January 2013 14.4%
January 2012 15.1%
January 2011 16.1%
January 2010 16.5%
January 2009 14.0%
January 2008 9.0%
January 2007 8.3%
January 2006 8.4%
January 2005 9.3%
January 2004 9.9%
January 2003 9.9%
The January BLS Analysis
The unemployment rate is published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a division of the US Department of Labor. The rate is found by dividing the number of unemployed by the total civilian labor force. On February 5th, 2016, the BLS published the most recent unemployment rate for January, 2016 of 4.9% (actually it is 4.921, down by .087% from 5.008% in December, 2015.
The unemployment rate was determined by dividing the unemployed of 7,791,000 (—down from the month before by 113,000—since January, 2015 this number has decreased by 1,129,000) by the total civilian labor force of 158,335,000 (up by 502,000 from December, 2015). Since January 2015, our total civilian labor force has increased by 1,310,000 workers.
(The continuing ‘Strange BLS Math’ saga): The BLS continues to increase the total Civilian Noninstitutional Population—this time up to 252,397,000. This is an increase of 461,000 from last month’s increase. In one year’s time, this population has increased by 2,674,000. The Civilian Noninstitutional Population has increased each month by…)
Up from December 2015 by 461,000
Up from November 2015 by 189,000
Up from October 2015 by 206,000
Up from September 2015 by 216,000
Up from August 2015 by 229,000
Up from July 2015 by 220,000
Up from June 2015 by 213,000
Up from May 2015 by 208,000
Up from April 2015 by 189,000
Up from March 2015 by 186,000
Up from February 2015 by 191,000
Up from January 2015 by 176,000
Up from December 2014 by 696,000
Up from November 2014 by 143,000
Up from October 2014 by 187,000
Up from September 2014 by 211,000
Up from August 2014 by 217,000
Up from July 2014 by 206,000
Up from June 2014 by 209,000
Up from May 2014 by 192,000
Up from April 2014 by 183,000
Up from March 2014 by 181,000
Up from February 2014 by 173,000
Up from January 2014 by 170,000
Up from December 2013 by 170,000
Up from November 2013 by 178,000
Up from October 2013 by 186,000
Up from September 2013 by 213,000
Up from August 2013 by 209,000
Up from July 2013 by 203,000
Up from June 2013 by 204,000
Up from May 2013 by 189,000
Up from April 2013 by 188,000
Up from March 2013 by 180,000
Up from February 2013 by 167,000
Up from January 2013 by 165,000
Up from December 2012 by 313,000
Up from November 2012 by 176,000
Up from October 2012 by 191,000
Up from September 2012 by 211,000
Up from August 2012 by 206,000
Up from July 2012 by 212,000
Up from June 2012 by 199,000
Up from May 2012 by 189,000
Up from April 2012 by 182,000
Up from March 2012 by 180,000
Up from February 2012 by 169,000
Up from January 2012 by 335,000
Up from December 2011 by 2,020,000
And this month the BLS has increased the Civilian Labor Force to 158,335,000 (up from December by 502,000).
Subtract the second number (‘civilian labor force’) from the first number (‘civilian noninstitutional population’) and you get 94,062,000 ‘Not in Labor Force’—down by 41,000 from last month’s 94,103,000. Since January, 2015, 1,363,000 US workers have vanished! Where did those 1,363,000 potential workers disappear to in one year’s time? I am assuming they still have to eat and pay their rent. They still need money, don’t they? The government tells us that most of these NILFs got discouraged and just gave up looking for a job. My monthly recurring question is: “If that is the case, how do they survive when they don’t earn any money because they don’t have a job? Are they ALL relying on the government to support them??”
This month our Employment Participation Rate—the population 16 years and older working or seeking work—rose slightly to 62.7%. This is .3% above the historically low rate of 62.4% recorded in September and October—and, before that, the rate recorded in October 1977—9 months into Jimmy Carter’s presidency—38 years ago!
Final take on these numbers: Fewer people looking for work will always bring down the unemployment rate.
Anyway, back to the point I am trying to make. On the surface, these new unemployment rates are scary, but let’s look a little deeper and consider some other numbers.
The unemployment rate includes all types of workers—construction workers, government workers, etc. We recruiters, on the other hand, mainly place management, professional and related types of workers. That unemployment rate in January was 2.3% (this rate was .3% higher than last month’s 2.0%). Or, you can look at it another way. We usually place people who have college degrees. That unemployment rate in January was 2.5% (this rate was the same as the last five month’s 2.5%).
Now stay with me a little longer. This gets better. It’s important to understand (and none of the pundits mention this) that the unemployment rate, for many reasons, will never be 0%, no matter how good the economy is. Without boring you any more than I have already, let me add here that Milton Friedman (the renowned Nobel Prize-winning economist), is famous for the theory of the “natural rate of unemployment” (or the term he preferred, NAIRU, which is the acronym for Non-Accelerating Inflation Rate of Unemployment). Basically, this theory states that full employment presupposes an ‘unavoidable and acceptable’ unemployment rate of somewhere between 4-6% with it. Economists often settle on 5%, although the “New Normal Unemployment Rate” has been suggested to fall at 6.7%.
Nevertheless (if you will allow me to apply a ‘macro’ concept to a ‘micro’ issue), if this rate is applied to our main category of Management, Professional and Related types of potential recruits, and/or our other main category of College-Degreed potential recruits, we are well below the 4-6% threshold for full employment…we find no unemployment! None! Zilch! A Big Goose Egg!
THE IMPORTANCE OF GDP
“The economic goal of any nation, as of any individual, is to get the greatest results with the least effort. The whole economic progress of mankind has consisted in getting more production with the same labor…Translated into national terms, this first principle means that our real objective is to maximize production. In doing this, full employment—that is, the absence of involuntary idleness—becomes a necessary by-product. But production is the end, employment merely the means. We cannot continuously have the fullest production without full employment. But we can very easily have full employment without full production.”
–Economics in One Lesson, by Henry Hazlitt, Chapter X, “The Fetish of Full Employment”
On January 29th, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) announced the 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 +0.7% in the fourth quarter of 2015, according to the “advance” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the third quarter, real GDP increased 2.0%.
The Bureau emphasized that the fourth-quarter advance estimate GDP is based on source data that are incomplete or subject to further revision by the source agency. The “second” estimate for the fourth quarter, based on more complete data, will be released on February 26, 2016.
The increase in real GDP in the fourth quarter primarily reflected positive contributions from personal consumption expenditures (PCE), residential fixed investment, and federal government spending that were partly offset by negative contributions from private inventory investment, exports, and nonresidential fixed investment. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased.
The deceleration in real GDP in the fourth quarter primarily reflected a deceleration in PCE and downturns in nonresidential fixed investment, in exports, and in state and local government spending that were partly offset by a smaller decrease in private inventory investment, a deceleration in imports, and an acceleration in federal government spending.
*The economy needs to expand at about +3% to keep the unemployment rate from rising.
2015 GDP
Real GDP increased 2.4% in 2015 (that is, from the 2014 annual level to the 2015 annual level), the same rate as in 2014.
The increase in real GDP in 2015 primarily reflected positive contributions from personal consumption expenditures (PCE), nonresidential fixed investment, residential fixed investment, private inventory investment, state and local government spending, and exports. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased.
Comparing real GDP growth in 2015 with growth in 2014, real GDP increased 2.4% in both years, though there were offsetting movements in the components. Decelerations in nonresidential fixed investment and in exports and an acceleration in imports were offset by accelerations in PCE and in residential fixed investment, a smaller decrease in federal government spending, and accelerations in private inventory investment and in state and local government spending.
(The “second” estimate for the 4th Quarter and Annual 2015 GDPs will be released on February 26th, 2016).
IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR UNEMPLOYMENT EVER TO BE ZERO
‘Unemployment’ is an emotional ‘trigger’ word…a ‘third rail’, if you will. It conjures up negative thoughts. But it is important to realize that, while we want everyone who wants a job to have the opportunity to work, unemployment can never be zero and, in fact, can be disruptive to an economy if it gets too close to zero. Very low unemployment can actually hurt the economy by creating an upward pressure on wages which invariably leads to higher production costs and prices. This can lead to inflation. The lowest the unemployment rate has been in the US was 2.5%. That was in May and June 1953 when the economy overheated due to the Korean War. When this bubble burst, it kicked off the Recession of 1953. A healthy economy will always include some percentage of unemployment.
There are five main sources of unemployment:
1. Cyclical (or demand-deficient) unemployment – This type of unemployment fluctuates with the business cycle. It rises during a recession and falls during the subsequent recovery. Workers who are most affected by this type of unemployment are laid off during a recession when production volumes fall and companies use lay-offs as the easiest way to reduce costs. These workers are usually rehired, some months later, when the economy improves.
2. Frictional unemployment – This comes from the normal turnover in the labor force. This is where new workers are entering the workforce and older workers are retiring and leaving vacancies to be filled by the new workers or those re-entering the workforce. This category includes workers who are between jobs.
3. Structural unemployment – This happens when the skills possessed by the unemployed worker don’t match the requirements of the opening—whether those be in characteristics and skills or in location. This can come from new technology or foreign competition (e.g., foreign outsourcing). This type of unemployment usually lasts longer than frictional unemployment because retraining, and sometimes relocation, is involved. Occasionally jobs in this category can just disappear overseas.
4. Seasonal unemployment – This happens when the workforce is affected by the climate or time of year. Construction workers and agricultural workers aren’t needed as much during the winter season because of the inclement weather. On the other hand, retail workers experience an increase in hiring shortly before, and during, the holiday season, but can be laid off shortly thereafter.
5. Surplus unemployment – This is caused by minimum wage laws and unions. When wages are set at a higher level, unemployment can often result. Why? To keep within the same payroll budget, the company must let go of some workers to pay the remaining workers a higher salary.
Other factors influencing the unemployment rate:
1. Length of unemployment – Some studies indicate that an important factor influencing a workers decision to accept a new job is directly related to the length of the unemployment benefit they are receiving. Currently, in 2015, workers in most states are eligible for up to 26 weeks of benefits from the regular state-funded unemployment compensation program, although eight states provide fewer weeks and two provide more. No additional weeks of federal benefits are available in any state: the temporary Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program expired at the end of 2013, and no state currently qualifies to offer more weeks under the permanent Extended Benefits (EB) program. Studies suggest that additional weeks of benefits reduce the incentive of the unemployed to seek and accept less desirable jobs.
2. Changes in GDP – Since hiring workers takes time, the improvement in the unemployment rate usually lags behind the improvement in the GDP.
WHERE RECRUITERS PLACE
Now back to the issue at hand, namely the recruiting, and placing, of professionals and those with college degrees.
If you take a look at the past few years of unemployment in the January “management, professional and related” types of worker category, you will find the following rates:
January 2015 2.9%
January 2014 3.1%
January 2013 3.9%
January 2012 4.3%
January 2011 4.7%
January 2010 5.0%
January 2009 4.1%
January 2008 2.2%
January 2007 2.0%
January 2006 2.1%
January 2005 2.4%
January 2004 3.0%
January 2003 3.2%
January 2002 3.1%
Here are the rates, during those same time periods, for “college-degreed” workers:
January 2015 2.8%
January 2014 3.3%
January 2013 3.8%
January 2012 4.2%
January 2011 4.2%
January 2010 4.8%
January 2009 3.9%
January 2008 2.1%
January 2007 2.1%
January 2006 2.1%
January 2005 2.4%
January 2004 2.9%
January 2003 3.0%
January 2002 2.9%
January’s 2016 rates for these two categories, 2.3% and 2.5%, respectively, are trending very positively and are approaching the halcyon numbers we attained in the 2006, 2007 and 2008 time frames. But regardless, these unemployment numbers usually include a good number of job hoppers, job shoppers and rejects. We, on the other hand, are engaged by our client companies to find those candidates who are happy, well-appreciated, making good money and currently working and we entice them to move for even better opportunities—especially where new technologies are expanding. This will never change. And that is why, no matter the unemployment rate, we still need to market to find the best possible job orders and we still need to recruit to find the best possible candidates.
Below are the numbers for the over 25 year olds:
Less than H.S. diploma – Unemployment Rate
1/08 2/08 3/08 4/08 5/08 6/08 7/08 8/08 9/08 10/08 11/08 12/08
7.7% 7.4% 8.2% 7.9% 8.4% 8.9% 8.6% 9.7% 9.8% 10.4% 10.6% 10.9%
1/09 2/09 3/09 4/09 5/09 6/09 7/09 8/09 9/09 10/09 11/09 12/09
12.0% 12.6% 13.3% 14.8% 15.5% 15.5% 15.4% 15.6% 15.0% 15.5% 15.0% 15.3%
1/10 2/10 3/10 4/10 5/10 6/10 7/10 8/10 9/10 10/10 11/10 12/10
15.2% 15.6% 14.5% 14.7% 15.0% 14.1% 13.8% 14.0% 15.4% 15.3% 15.7% 15.3%
1/11 2/11 3/11 4/11 5/11 6/11 7/11 8/11 9/11 10/11 11/11 12/11
14.2% 13.9% 13.7% 14.6% 14.7% 14.3% 15.0% 14.3% 14.0% 13.8% 13.2% 13.8%
1/12 2/12 3/12 4/12 5/12 6/12 7/12 8/12 9/12 10/12 11/12 12/12
13.1% 12.9% 12.6% 12.5% 13.0% 12.6% 12.7% 12.0% 11.3% 12.2% 12.2% 11.7%
1/13 2/13 3/13 4/13 5/13 6/13 7/13 8/13 9/13 10/13 11/13 12/13
12.0% 11.2% 11.1% 11.6% 11.1% 10.7% 11.0% 11.3% 10.3% 10.9% 10.8% 9.8%
1/14 2/14 3/14 4/14 5/14 6/14 7/14 8/14 9/14 10/14 11/14 12/14
9.6% 9.8% 9.6% 8.9% 9.1% 9.1% 9.6% 9.1% 8.4% 7.9% 8.5% 8.8%
1/15 2/15 3/15 4/15 5/15 6/15 7/15 8/15 9/15 10/15 11/15 12/15
8.5% 8.4% 8.6% 8.6% 8.6% 8.2% 8.3% 7.7% 7.7% 7.3% 6.8% 6.7%
1/16 2/16 3/16 4/16 5/16 6/16 7/16 8/16 9/16 10/16 11/16 12/16
7.4%
H.S. Grad; no college – Unemployment Rate
1/08 2/08 3/08 4/08 5/08 6/08 7/08 8/08 9/08 10/08 11/08 12/08
4.6% 4.7% 5.1% 5.0% 5.2% 5.2% 5.3% 5.8% 6.3% 6.5% 6.9% 7.7%
1/09 2/09 3/09 4/09 5/09 6/09 7/09 8/09 9/09 10/09 11/09 12/09
8.1% 8.3% 9.0% 9.3% 10.0% 9.8% 9.4% 9.7% 10.8% 11.2% 10.4% 10.5%
1/10 2/10 3/10 4/10 5/10 6/10 7/10 8/10 9/10 10/10 11/10 12/10
10.1% 10.5% 10.8% 10.6% 10.9% 10.8% 10.1% 10.3% 10.0% 10.1% 10.0% 9.8%
1/11 2/11 3/11 4/11 5/11 6/11 7/11 8/11 9/11 10/11 11/11 12/11
9.4% 9.5% 9.5% 9.7% 9.5% 10.0% 9.3% 9.6% 9.7% 9.6% 8.8% 8.7%
1/12 2/12 3/12 4/12 5/12 6/12 7/12 8/12 9/12 10/12 11/12 12/12
8.4% 8.3% 8.0% 7.9% 8.1% 8.4% 8.7% 8.8% 8.7% 8.4% 8.1% 8.0%
1/13 2/13 3/13 4/13 5/13 6/13 7/13 8/13 9/13 10/13 11/13 12/13
8.1% 7.9% 7.6% 7.4% 7.4% 7.6% 7.6% 7.6% 7.6% 7.3% 7.3% 7.1%
1/14 2/14 3/14 4/14 5/14 6/14 7/14 8/14 9/14 10/14 11/14 12/14
6.5% 6.4% 6.3% 6.3% 6.5% 5.8% 6.1% 6.2% 5.3% 5.7% 5.6% 5.3%
1/15 2/15 3/15 4/15 5/15 6/15 7/15 8/15 9/15 10/15 11/15 12/15
5.4% 5.4% 5.3% 5.4% 5.8% 5.4% 5.5% 5.5% 5.3% 5.3% 5.4% 5.6%
1/16 2/16 3/16 4/16 5/16 6/16 7/16 8/16 9/16 10/16 11/16 12/16
5.3%
Some College; or AA/AS – Unemployment Rate
1/08 2/08 3/08 4/08 5/08 6/08 7/08 8/08 9/08 10/08 11/08 12/08
3.7% 3.8% 3.9% 4.0% 4.3% 4.4% 4.6% 5.0% 5.1% 5.3% 5.5% 5.6%
1/09 2/09 3/09 4/09 5/09 6/09 7/09 8/09 9/09 10/09 11/09 12/09
6.2% 7.0% 7.2% 7.4% 7.7% 8.0% 7.9% 8.2% 8.5% 9.0% 9.0% 9.0%
1/10 2/10 3/10 4/10 5/10 6/10 7/10 8/10 9/10 10/10 11/10 12/10
8.5% 8.0% 8.2% 8.3% 8.3% 8.2% 8.3% 8.7% 9.1% 8.5% 8.7% 8.1%
1/11 2/11 3/11 4/11 5/11 6/11 7/11 8/11 9/11 10/11 11/11 12/11
8.0% 7.8% 7.4% 7.5% 8.0% 8.4% 8.3% 8.2% 8.4% 8.3% 7.6% 7.7%
1/12 2/12 3/12 4/12 5/12 6/12 7/12 8/12 9/12 10/12 11/12 12/12
7.2% 7.3% 7.5% 7.6% 7.9% 7.5% 7.1% 6.6% 6.5% 6.9% 6.6% 6.9%
1/13 2/13 3/13 4/13 5/13 6/13 7/13 8/13 9/13 10/13 11/13 12/13
7.0% 6.7% 6.4% 6.4% 6.5% 6.4% 6.0% 6.1% 6.0% 6.3% 6.4% 6.1%
1/14 2/14 3/14 4/14 5/14 6/14 7/14 8/14 9/14 10/14 11/14 12/14
6.0% 6.2% 6.1% 5.7% 5.5% 5.0% 5.3% 5.4% 5.4% 4.8% 4.9% 5.0%
1/15 2/15 3/15 4/15 5/15 6/15 7/15 8/15 9/15 10/15 11/15 12/15
5.2% 5.1% 4.8% 4.7% 4.4% 4.2% 4.4% 4.4% 4.3% 4.3% 4.4% 4.1%
1/16 2/16 3/16 4/16 5/16 6/16 7/16 8/16 9/16 10/16 11/16 12/16
4.2%
BS/BS + – Unemployment Rate
1/08 2/08 3/08 4/08 5/08 6/08 7/08 8/08 9/08 10/08 11/08 12/08
2.1% 2.1% 2.1% 2.1% 2.3% 2.4% 2.5% 2.7% 2.6% 3.1% 3.2% 3.7%
1/09 2/09 3/09 4/09 5/09 6/09 7/09 8/09 9/09 10/09 11/09 12/09
3.8% 4.1% 4.3% 4.4% 4.8% 4.7% 4.7% 4.7% 4.9% 4.7% 4.9% 5.0%
1/10 2/10 3/10 4/10 5/10 6/10 7/10 8/10 9/10 10/10 11/10 12/10
4.9% 5.0% 4.9% 4.9% 4.7% 4.4% 4.5% 4.6% 4.4% 4.7% 5.1% 4.8%
1/11 2/11 3/11 4/11 5/11 6/11 7/11 8/11 9/11 10/11 11/11 12/11
4.2% 4.3% 4.4% 4.5% 4.5% 4.4% 4.3% 4.3% 4.2% 4.4% 4.4% 4.1%
1/12 2/12 3/12 4/12 5/12 6/12 7/12 8/12 9/12 10/12 11/12 12/12
4.2% 4.2% 4.2% 4.0% 3.9% 4.1% 4.1% 4.1% 4.1% 3.8% 3.8% 3.9%
1/13 2/13 3/13 4/13 5/13 6/13 7/13 8/13 9/13 10/13 11/13 12/13
3.8% 3.8% 3.8% 3.9% 3.8% 3.9% 3.8% 3.5% 3.7% 3.8% 3.4% 3.3%
1/14 2/14 3/14 4/14 5/14 6/14 7/14 8/14 9/14 10/14 11/14 12/14
3.2% 3.4% 3.4% 3.3% 3.2% 3.3% 3.1% 3.2% 2.9% 3.1% 3.2% 2.8%
1/15 2/15 3/15 4/15 5/15 6/15 7/15 8/15 9/15 10/15 11/15 12/15
2.8% 2.7% 2.5% 2.7% 2.7% 2.5% 2.6% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5%
1/16 2/16 3/16 4/16 5/16 6/16 7/16 8/16 9/16 10/16 11/16 12/16
2.5%
Management, Professional & Related – Unemployment Rate
1/08 2/08 3/08 4/08 5/08 6/08 7/08 8/08 9/08 10/08 11/08 12/08
2.2% 2.2% 2.1% 2.0% 2.6% 2.7% 2.9% 3.3% 2.8% 3.0% 3.2% 3.3%
1/09 2/09 3/09 4/09 5/09 6/09 7/09 8/09 9/09 10/09 11/09 12/09
4.1% 3.9% 4.2% 4.0% 4.6% 5.0% 5.5% 5.4% 5.2% 4.7% 4.6% 4.6%
1/10 2/10 3/10 4/10 5/10 6/10 7/10 8/10 9/10 10/10 11/10 12/10
5.0% 4.8% 4.7% 4.5% 4.5% 4.9% 5.0% 5.1% 4.4% 4.5% 4.7% 4.6%
1/11 2/11 3/11 4/11 5/11 6/11 7/11 8/11 9/11 10/11 11/11 12/11
4.7% 4.4% 4.3% 4.0% 4.4% 4.7% 5.0% 4.9% 4.4% 4.4% 4.2% 4.2%
1/12 2/12 3/12 4/12 5/12 6/12 7/12 8/12 9/12 10/12 11/12 12/12
4.3% 4.2% 4.2% 3.7% 4.0% 4.4% 4.8% 4.5% 3.9% 3.8% 3.6% 3.9%
1/13 2/13 3/13 4/13 5/13 6/13 7/13 8/13 9/13 10/13 11/13 12/13
3.9% 3.8% 3.6% 3.5% 3.5% 4.2% 4.1% 3.8% 3.5% 3.4% 3.1% 2.9%
1/14 2/14 3/14 4/14 5/14 6/14 7/14 8/14 9/14 10/14 11/14 12/14
3.1% 3.2% 3.3% 2.9% 3.1% 3.5% 3.5% 3.4% 2.8% 2.7% 2.8% 2.7%
1/15 2/15 3/15 4/15 5/15 6/15 7/15 8/15 9/15 10/15 11/15 12/15
2.9% 2.7% 2.4% 2.4% 2.4% 2.9% 3.1% 2.9% 2.4% 2.2% 2.1% 2.0%
1/16 2/16 3/16 4/16 5/16 6/16 7/16 8/16 9/16 10/16 11/16 12/16
2.3%
Or employed…(,000)
1/08 2/08 3/08 4/08 5/08 6/08 7/08 8/08 9/08 10/08 11/08 12/08
52,165 52,498 52,681 52,819 52,544 52,735 52,655 52,626 53,104 53,485 53,274 52,548
1/09 2/09 3/09 4/09 5/09 6/09 7/09 8/09 9/09 10/09 11/09 12/09
52,358 52,196 52,345 52,597 52,256 51,776 51,810 51,724 52,186 52,981 52,263 52,131
1/10 2/10 3/10 4/10 5/10 6/10 7/10 8/10 9/10 10/10 11/10 12/10
52,159 52,324 52,163 52,355 51,839 51,414 50,974 50,879 51,757 51,818 52,263 51,704
1/11 2/11 3/11 4/11 5/11 6/11 7/11 8/11 9/11 10/11 11/11 12/11
51,866 52,557 53,243 53,216 52,778 52,120 51,662 51,997 52,665 52,864 52,787 52,808
1/12 2/12 3/12 4/12 5/12 6/12 7/12 8/12 9/12 10/12 11/12 12/12
53,152 53,208 53,771 54,055 54,156 53,846 53,165 53,696 54,655 55,223 54,951 54,635
1/13 2/13 3/13 4/13 5/13 6/13 7/13 8/13 9/13 10/13 11/13 12/13
54,214 54,563 54,721 54,767 54,740 54,323 54,064 54,515 55,013 55,155 55,583 54,880
1/14 2/14 3/14 4/14 5/14 6/14 7/14 8/14 9/14 10/14 11/14 12/14
55,096 55,501 56,036 55,896 56,202 55,714 55,381 55,646 56,365 56,759 57,110 56,888
1/15 2/15 3/15 4/15 5/15 6/15 7/15 8/15 9/15 10/15 11/15 12/15
57,367 57,596 57,805 57,953 58,155 57,710 57,392 57,288 58,105 58,456 58,667 59,030
1/16 2/16 3/16 4/16 5/16 6/16 7/16 8/16 9/16 10/16 11/16 12/16
59,014
And unemployed…(,000)
1/08 2/08 3/08 4/08 5/08 6/08 7/08 8/08 9/08 10/08 11/08 12/08
1,164 1,159 1,121 1,088 1,407 1,478 1,585 1,779 1,539 1,647 1,786 1,802
1/09 2/09 3/09 4/09 5/09 6/09 7/09 8/09 9/09 10/09 11/09 12/09
2,238 2,137 2,292 2,164 2,373 2,720 3,034 2,925 2,859 2,593 2,530 2,509
1/10 2/10 3/10 4/10 5/10 6/10 7/10 8/10 9/10 10/10 11/10 12/10
2,762 2,637 2,600 2,464 2,450 2,644 2,687 2,762 2,381 2,417 2,525 2,468
1/11 2/11 3/11 4/11 5/11 6/11 7/11 8/11 9/11 10/11 11/11 12/11
2,557 2,435 2,381 2,196 2,419 2,598 2,742 2,671 2,450 2,410 2,336 2,303
1/12 2/12 3/12 4/12 5/12 6/12 7/12 8/12 9/12 10/12 11/12 12/12
2,410 2,336 2,330 2,062 2,275 2,472 2,666 2,556 2,245 2,170 2,077 2,221
1/13 2/13 3/13 4/13 5/13 6/13 7/13 8/13 9/13 10/13 11/13 12/13
2,211 2,164 2,020 1,980 1,990 2,358 2,286 2,130 1,978 1,930 1,749 1,637
1/14 2/14 3/14 4/14 5/14 6/14 7/14 8/14 9/14 10/14 11/14 12/14
1,784 1,845 1,890 1,642 1,795 2,001 2,011 1,930 1,617 1,582 1,656 1,568
1/15 2/15 3/15 4/15 5/15 6/15 7/15 8/15 9/15 10/15 11/15 12/15
1,741 1,601 1,398 1,435 1,460 1,714 1,807 1,686 1,414 1,312 1,276 1,208
1/16 2/16 3/16 4/16 5/16 6/16 7/16 8/16 9/16 10/16 11/16 12/16
1,404
For a total Management, Professional & Related workforce of…(,000)
1/08 2/08 3/08 4/08 5/08 6/08 7/08 8/08 9/08 10/08 11/08 12/08
53,329 53,657 53,802 53,907 53,951 54,213 54,240 54,405 54,643 55,132 55,060 54,350
1/09 2/09 3/09 4/09 5/09 6/09 7/09 8/09 9/09 10/09 11/09 12/09
54,596 54,333 54,637 54,761 54,629 54,496 54,844 54,649 55,045 55,574 54,793 54,640
1/10 2/10 3/10 4/10 5/10 6/10 7/10 8/10 9/10 10/10 11/10 12/10
54,921 54,961 54,763 54,819 54,289 54,058 53,661 53,641 54,138 54,235 54,788 54,172
1/11 2/11 3/11 4/11 5/11 6/11 7/11 8/11 9/11 10/11 11/11 12/11
54,423 54,992 55,624 55,412 55,197 54,718 54,404 54,668 55,115 55,274 55,123 55,111
1/12 2/12 3/12 4/12 5/12 6/12 7/12 8/12 9/12 10/12 11/12 12/12
55,562 55,544 56,101 56,117 56,431 56,318 55,831 56,252 56,900 57,393 57,028 56,856
1/13 2/13 3/13 4/13 5/13 6/13 7/13 8/13 9/13 10/13 11/13 12/13
56,425 56,727 56,741 56,747 56,730 56,681 56,350 56,645 56,991 57,085 57,332 56,517
1/14 2/14 3/14 4/14 5/14 6/14 7/14 8/14 9/14 10/14 11/14 12/14
56,880 57,346 57,926 57,538 57,997 57,715 57,392 57,576 57,982 58,341 58,766 58,456
1/15 2/15 3/15 4/15 5/15 6/15 7/15 8/15 9/15 10/15 11/15 12/15
59,108 59,197 59,203 59,388 59,615 59,424 59,199 58,974 59,519 59,768 59,943 60,238
1/16 2/16 3/16 4/16 5/16 6/16 7/16 8/16 9/16 10/16 11/16 12/16
60,418
Management, Business and Financial Operations – Unemployment Rate
1/08 2/08 3/08 4/08 5/08 6/08 7/08 8/08 9/08 10/08 11/08 12/08
2.3% 2.3% 2.2% 2.1% 2.7% 2.5% 2.6% 2.8% 2.8% 3.0% 3.6% 3.9%
1/09 2/09 3/09 4/09 5/09 6/09 7/09 8/09 9/09 10/09 11/09 12/09
4.6% 4.5% 4.5% 4.4% 4.6% 4.8% 4.9% 5.0% 5.2% 5.4% 5.4% 5.2%
1/10 2/10 3/10 4/10 5/10 6/10 7/10 8/10 9/10 10/10 11/10 12/10
5.2% 5.1% 5.4% 5.1% 4.9% 4.8% 4.7% 4.9% 4.3% 5.0% 5.5% 5.7%
1/11 2/11 3/11 4/11 5/11 6/11 7/11 8/11 9/11 10/11 11/11 12/11
5.3% 4.9% 4.8% 4.6% 4.9% 4.6% 4.6% 4.6% 4.6% 4.7% 4.6% 4.4%
1/12 2/12 3/12 4/12 5/12 6/12 7/12 8/12 9/12 10/12 11/12 12/12
4.5% 4.4% 4.4% 4.0% 4.1% 3.8% 3.8% 3.7% 3.5% 3.6% 3.8% 4.1%
1/13 2/13 3/13 4/13 5/13 6/13 7/13 8/13 9/13 10/13 11/13 12/13
4.0% 3.9% 3.5% 3.5% 3.8% 3.5% 3.1% 3.4% 3.3% 3.7% 3.2% 3.1%
1/14 2/14 3/14 4/14 5/14 6/14 7/14 8/14 9/14 10/14 11/14 12/14
3.4% 3.6% 3.5% 3.2% 3.3% 2.8% 2.7% 2.6% 2.4% 2.7% 2.7% 2.5%
1/15 2/15 3/15 4/15 5/15 6/15 7/15 8/15 9/15 10/15 11/15 12/15
3.0% 2.8% 2.6% 2.6% 2.9% 2.4% 2.3% 2.2% 2.4% 2.2% 2.1% 1.9%
1/16 2/16 3/16 4/16 5/16 6/16 7/16 8/16 9/16 10/16 11/16 12/16
2.3%
Professional & Related – Unemployment Rate
1/08 2/08 3/08 4/08 5/08 6/08 7/08 8/08 9/08 10/08 11/08 12/08
2.1% 2.1% 2.0% 2.0% 2.5% 2.9% 3.2% 3.6% 2.8% 3.0% 3.0% 2.9%
1/10 2/10 3/10 4/10 5/10 6/10 7/10 8/10 9/10 10/10 11/10 12/10
4.9% 4.6% 4.3% 4.1% 4.3% 5.0% 5.2% 5.3% 4.4% 4.1% 4.1% 3.8%
1/11 2/11 3/11 4/11 5/11 6/11 7/11 8/11 9/11 10/11 11/11 12/11
4.3% 4.1% 3.9% 3.5% 4.0% 4.9% 5.3% 5.1% 4.4% 4.1% 4.0% 4.0%
1/12 2/12 3/12 4/12 5/12 6/12 7/12 8/12 9/12 10/12 11/12 12/12
4.2% 4.1% 4.0% 3.5% 4.0% 4.8% 5.5% 5.2% 4.3% 3.9% 3.5% 3.8%
1/13 2/13 3/13 4/13 5/13 6/13 7/13 8/13 9/13 10/13 11/13 12/13
3.8% 3.8% 3.6% 3.4% 3.3% 4.6% 4.7% 4.0% 3.6% 3.1% 2.9% 2.7%
1/14 2/14 3/14 4/14 5/14 6/14 7/14 8/14 9/14 10/14 11/14 12/14
2.9% 3.0% 3.1% 2.6% 2.9% 4.0% 4.1% 3.9% 3.1% 2.7% 2.9% 2.8%
1/15 2/15 3/15 4/15 5/15 6/15 7/15 8/15 9/15 10/15 11/15 12/15
2.9% 2.7% 2.2% 2.3% 2.1% 3.2% 3.6% 3.3% 2.4% 2.2% 2.2% 2.1%
1/16 2/16 3/16 4/16 5/16 6/16 7/16 8/16 9/16 10/16 11/16 12/16
2.4%
Sales & Related – Unemployment Rate
1/08 2/08 3/08 4/08 5/08 6/08 7/08 8/08 9/08 10/08 11/08 12/08
5.2% 5.2% 4.8% 4.3% 5.1% 5.6% 6.2% 6.3% 5.7% 6.1% 6.5% 7.0%
1/09 2/09 3/09 4/09 5/09 6/09 7/09 8/09 9/09 10/09 11/09 12/09
7.7% 8.4% 8.9% 8.6% 8.9% 9.1% 8.3% 8.7% 8.9% 9.5% 9.1% 8.9%
1/10 2/10 3/10 4/10 5/10 6/10 7/10 8/10 9/10 10/10 11/10 12/10
10.1% 10.2% 9.7% 9.2% 9.6% 9.4% 10.1% 9.0% 9.4% 9.1% 8.8% 8.3%
1/11 2/11 3/11 4/11 5/11 6/11 7/11 8/11 9/11 10/11 11/11 12/11
9.3% 9.0% 8.5% 8.5% 9.4% 9.7% 9.4% 8.6% 9.4% 8.2% 7.8% 7.7%
1/12 2/12 3/12 4/12 5/12 6/12 7/12 8/12 9/12 10/12 11/12 12/12
8.2% 7.9% 8.1% 7.6% 7.9% 8.4% 8.3% 8.6% 7.9% 7.0% 7.3% 7.0%
1/13 2/13 3/13 4/13 5/13 6/13 7/13 8/13 9/13 10/13 11/13 12/13
8.5% 8.2% 7.7% 6.9% 7.1% 6.7% 6.9% 7.2% 7.5% 7.3% 7.0% 6.3%
1/14 2/14 3/14 4/14 5/14 6/14 7/14 8/14 9/14 10/14 11/14 12/14
7.1% 7.7% 6.8% 5.8% 6.8% 6.1% 6.2% 5.6% 5.4% 5.2% 5.3% 5.0%
1/15 2/15 3/15 4/15 5/15 6/15 7/15 8/15 9/15 10/15 11/15 12/15
5.8% 5.2% 5.8% 5.5% 5.8% 5.6% 5.8% 5.4% 5.6% 5.3% 5.1% 4.3%
1/16 2/16 3/16 4/16 5/16 6/16 7/16 8/16 9/16 10/16 11/16 12/16
5.0%