Labor and Industry Trends
NOT TOO HOT AND NOT TOO COLD
The U.S. labor market unsurprisingly continues to show signs of cooling as the overall economy rebalances post pandemic which saw an unprecedented hiring surge. Employers added 150,000 jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Labor Department reported on Friday, a number that fell short of economists' forecasts.
At the same time, employment figures for August and September were revised downward, subtracting more than 100,000 jobs from earlier reports. The unemployment rate, based on a survey of households, rose fractionally to 3.9% from 3.8% in September.
There were also several extenuating factors in the October BLS data. About 96,000 people reported being out of work because of a strike or labor dispute, the most since 1997—largely because of auto industry walkouts that have now been settled. Layoffs, another barometer of the labor market's health, remain well below historical averages. Measures of labor force productivity have also made impressive gains in recent months.
What Does this Mean for Clients?
On a recent earnings call, Kforce CEO Joe Liberatore said it remains clear technology will continue to evolve and play an increasingly instrumental role in powering businesses. Clients across industries are poised to take action on a backlog of desired investments.
"We expect these important technology investments to be high priorities once the macro uncertainties begin to clear," Liberatore said. "Technology investments are simply not optional in today's competitive and disruptive business climate."
While clients continue to recognize highly skilled talent is essential to their success, they also see our services as a cost-effective solution for their projects. Kforce COO Dave Kelly added, "our clients expect us to continue to broaden our service offerings beyond traditional staffing to include managed teams and project solutions."
by Michael Blackman
CURRENT LABOR INDICATORS
February Jobs One-Month Net Change
3.9
Total Unemployment
%
150,000
Total Job Gains
%
4.1
Wage Growth (YoY)
77.8K
74K
67K
35.5K
29K
25K
16.4K
15.4K
13K
6K
1.1K
1K
-9K
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Leisure + Hospitality
Health care + Social assistance
Retail trade
Government
Professional + Business services
Construction
Mining + Logging
Financial activities
Manufacturing
Transportation + Warehousing
Information
Chart: Gabriel Cortes / CNBC
Monthly Job Creation in the U.S.
150K
568K
352K
350K
324K
800K
Published November 8, 2023
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Jul 2022 Through OCT 2023
600K
400K
200K
0
Jul
2022
Oct
2022
Jan
2023
Apr
2023
Jul
2023
Oct
2023
Aug
2022
Sep
2022
Nov
2022
Dec
2022
Feb
2023
Mar
2023
May
2032
Jun
2023
Aug
2023
Sep
2023
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
290K
239K
472K
248K
217K
217K
281K
105K
236K
165K
297K
OCTOBER 2023
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Michael Blackman
Michael Blackman
Learn More About Kforce
Learn More About Kforce
As Chief Corporate Development Officer at Kforce, Michael Blackman, a 32-year Kforce veteran, is the primary focal point for the firm with the Wall Street and financial communities. He is regularly sought out by leading economists for his perspectives on the economy and labor markets, and he contributes to a number of key proprietary economic publications.
CHIEF CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
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