US Department of Labor Employment Report looking up?
Some new May jobless numbers were released last week and it seems like the employment market is getting better. Or is it? When you dig a bit the picture isn't quite as rosy as it may appear.
While the jobless rate dropped a bit from 9.9% to 9.7%, which may at first glance seem to be - well, let's face it - it's OK at best, most of the gains in jobs were in public sector and a big chunk of those are temporary census workers. Government jobs are typically at the leading edge of a recovery especially when the fed is trying to stimulate the economy. However, while the government may be hiring, this doesn't necessarily translate to a significant increase in GDP or earnings.
Some other takeaways from the report -
- Economists were forecasting growth in private payrolls of 180,000 jobs - the real number is a paltry 41,000
- 322,000 folks dropped out of the labor pool - i.e. they gave up looking for work
- Manufacturing continues to lead the way with 29,000 additional jobs in May and the average number of hours worked, overtime, and earnings also climbed
- The number of temp workers increased 31,000, an eighth consecutive gain
- Another "not bad" data point indicates that earnings per hour for those with jobs climbed 0.3 percent on average to $22.57 last month and pay rose 1.9 percent year over year in May
The under-employment rate, which includes part-time workers who prefer to work full-time and those who have given up looking fell .5% to 16.6% - but that number is still a whopper - this means that ~1 out of 7 of you are either not working or only working part-time, meaning no insurance and no benefits to compound the fact that you aren't making as much money as you used to or would like to.
Are you in that 1 of 7? Then take a look at some of my past postings to get you jump started on getting back to work.
One thought, before I close - if you are out of work - don't despair. Things will get better; and when they do, those that are able to remain positive will come out on top. Remember "it's always darkest before the dawn."
Comments and feedback are requested and desired; and you are welcome and encouraged to submit questions to thecareerdoctor.
Debra Wheatman, CPRW, CPCC is the founder and Chief Career Strategist of Careers Done Write, a premier career services provider focused on developing highly personalized career roadmaps for senior leaders and executives across all verticals and industries.
Debra can be reached at -
debra@careersdonewrite.com
http://www.careersdonewrite.com/blog
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