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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