Hiring ramifications as US adds a jaw-dropping 528,000 new jobs in July
Overall, hourly jobs are up 159% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing a 3% month-over-month drop, and a 3% year-over-year decline.
As we predicted in last week’s Snagajob hiring report, “pre-release” estimates of the Labor Department’s July jobs report were short of actual numbers. In fact, estimates were not just a tad short, they were in the realm of, “Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore.”
While economists predicted a respectable 250,000 jobs would be added in July, the actual figure was more than double that amount: 528,000. That’s a significant rise, and sends the labor market well beyond the 22 million jobs lost during the pandemic.
For hiring managers looking to land hourly workers, this further confirms that we’re in uncharted territory in the labor market. With so many new jobs being added, the ability to attract workers continues to be a challenge. As our 2022 Hourly Hiring Report points out, new thinking is required to stand out from the crowd and attract job seekers.
This is especially true as job participation dropped again for the third straight month, down to 62.1% from June’s 62.2% (resulting in 623,000 fewer workers now than before the pandemic, and helping drive wages up .5% from June and up 5.2% from this time last year).
The US unemployment rate also fell to 3.5% after four-straight months at 3.6% (the lowest level in nearly 50 years).
All of the above-mentioned figures cement the fact that there continues to be a shortage of workers.
The largest mover in the jobs market was the healthcare industry, which added 122,000 new jobs in July. Specifically, for hourly hiring, we saw a 6% rise in healthcare jobs in July
Jobs
All industry data is from 3/2/20-8/9/22
Here are the latest overall job numbers:
Overall hourly jobs are up 159% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing a 3% month-over-month drop, and a 3% year-over-year decline.
Here are the latest job numbers by industry:
Food & Restaurant jobs are up 6% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing a 9% month-over-month drop, and a 26% year-over-year decline.
Hotel & Hospitality jobs are down 1% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing an 8% month-over-month drop, and a 61% year-over-year decline.
Healthcare jobs are up 187% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing a 6% month-over-month gain, and a 25% year-over-year decline.
Retail jobs are up 49% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing a 4% month-over-month gain, and a 4% year-over-year decline.
Warehouse & Logistics jobs are up 1146% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing a 1% month-over-month growth, and a 65% year-over-year gain.
The bottom line
We’ll continue to be your best resource for hourly job market insights as we collectively navigate towards our new normal and beyond.
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