+263,000 JOBS ADDED IN NOVEMBER - U.S. ECONOMY SHOWS STRENGTH.

December 2nd, 2022

Is The Us Job Market Cooling Down? Not At All.

The report published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the employment situation in America remains almost unchanged compared to previous months.

Data in hand, U.S. employers added 263,000 jobs in November, a growth quite in line with that of the previous 3 months (+282,000).

Despite attempts by the Fed to cool the job market, the unemployment rate remains stable at 3.7%, while wages rise by 5.1%, which is more than expected.

News that restores good mood, especially after the tens of thousands of layoffs announced in recent weeks by the Big Tech that had bounced from one newspaper to another and had caused concern, almost as if they were an omen of a near and effective recession.

However, the growth is largely coming from service sectors – health care, leisure and hospitality, and government above all – prompting some concern among economists.

?WHAT INDUSTRIES DID PERFORM BETTER?

Leisure and hospitality sector recorded the largest number of new jobs (+88,000), with an average of 82,000 jobs per month. However, that number is less than half the average monthly gain of 196,000 jobs in 2021, and leisure and hospitality employment is below the February 2020 pre-pandemic level of 980,000, or 5.8%. This is not a sign of crisis; on the contrary, employers are struggling to find workers to fill open positions. The job opening rate was 9% in October, the highest of any industry group.

Healthcare is the sector that has seen the number of employees grow exponentially: so far in 2022 employment in the healthcare sector has increased by an average of 47,000 per month, well above the 2021 average monthly gain of 9,000. In November, it recorded +45,000 jobs. The rate of job openings in this field remains among the highest.

On the podium we then have the Government, with an increase of 42,000 new jobs, especially in the field of education.

Construction companies added 20,000 jobs, despite economists expecting a slowdown caused by the increase in interest rates.

Information business gained 19,000 jobs. As anticipated, layoffs in the Big Tech do not appear meaningful at the moment.

Manufacturing industry created 14,000 jobs, well below the average of jobs created in the previous months (+36,000 in October). this may be a sign that confirms the shift away from goods to services.

WHAT INDUSTRIES DID LOST JOBS?

Retail, transportation and warehousing were among the few sectors to lose jobs.

Notably, retailers slashed 30,000 jobs in November and 62,000 since August. The downturn could be driven by a general decline in merchandise stores, including department stores.

Transportation and warehousing companies have lost 15,000 jobs, which could be due to a shift to travel and leisure consumption as the pandemic slows down. However, the overall number of transportation jobs is higher than the 2019 baseline, with plenty of room for workers to enter the field.

CONCLUSION

The U.S. job market has shown to be resilient, with a consistent number of jobs created, an increase in wages and an unemployment rate that is low and stable.

However, some indicators are telling us that serious contraction may be underway: the shift in spending from goods to services and the consequently purchasing managers’ index for manufacturing, which turned negative for the first time since the pandemic.

Emerald’s advice

In our ever changing world, it is important to always be on the forefront of the technology in your profession. If you are interested in learning more about opportunities in the Information Technology space or you are looking for a IT talent to join your team, feel free to schedule a call with one of our recruiters using the link?below.

-S. Casati, Emerald Resource Group