It’s July, but we are saying “hello” to the May jobs report! Every good Human Resources person stays tuned into what the job market is and how to stay competitive in capturing the best talent for their organization.
Who Paused Hiring In June?
Now that we’ve hit summer, we’re getting numbers in to reflect how people are responding to economic downturn whispers and the talk of pausing hiring from such companies as Coinbase, Tesla, PayPal, Wells Fargo, and more. Despite headline stories of layoffs, especially in the tech and mortgage industries, layoffs increased only modestly in the information (+1,000), financial activities (+10,000), professional & business services (+6,000) industries.
While are only receiving a May report on hiring, news headlines have reporting hiring pauses during the month of June and July. But is this out of caution or because these companies are experiencing a revenue decline? Let’s take a look at the May numbers to get a better idea of hiring strategies right now.
How Many Companies Are Hiring Right Now?
May numbers from the Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), that many companies were indeed hunting for new hirings are pretty record levels. This is despite talks of a low economic outlook.
“With over 11,300,000 available positions, we’re still well above the forecasted 11 million number from economists.” says Jeff Naugle, Founder and Co-Owner of Catalyst Career Group. “April showed $11,700,000 so there is a little bit of a drop, but we are still ahead of expectations.”
What do these numbers mean for every unemployed person?
There are two jobs available for every person looking for a position. This data should be encouraging to hiring managers looking to move forward with confidence when recruiting for open positions. In fact, Federal Reserve officials have stated that these numbers are proof that the economy is strong enough to weather even more aggressive interest rate hikes.
How Does GDP Growth Compare To Hiring?
Job openings in May was at 6.9% compared to April at 7.2% and March at 7.3%. This shows us that with a national unemployment rate of 3.6% in May, we are seeing that the labor market remained unusually tight in spite of the -1.6% GDP growth in the first quarter. Analysts are forecasting a negative growth in the second quarter. The next question is whether the June data for the labor market will remain as strong as May.
At the end of the day, the JOLTS report indicates that the labor market was still hot at the end of May. Recession fears picked up in June, so it remains to be seen how labor demand remain. This is a positive sign that the labor market is still strong and businesses should start now to find the top talent before they are snatched up.
Consider how you can beat inflation for your organization and hire the right people in the right positions at the right price point. Ask us about our virtual job fairs or private hiring events and what job descriptions will draw out the right candidates to help you be successful during this season! Contact Catalyst Career Group today.