All #News Stories

Construction employment trends in September showed strength despite economic confusion. Download the sector's Labor Market Snapshot for more!

Discouraged by the state of recruiting in an overheated market, employers are hoarding labor as uncertainty mounts.

Labor force participation still lags behind its pre-pandemic level, but some age groups are faring better than others.

Rising core and services prices in September remind us that inflation will not go gentle into that good night.

Recent turnover and wage trends for restaurant workers hint at more substantial changes across the labor market.

The U.S. economy is facing three important shifts, but the labor market remains resilient, adding 263k jobs in September.

What would a potential recession look like in this period of high inflation and high labor demand? Looking back to 1973 may hold some clues.

In August, job openings fell dramatically. The tight labor market of the last two years may finally be cooling off without layoffs increasing.

It’s been a turbulent week for the United Kingdom. Puzzling financial policy and political drama latched onto an ongoing energy crisis and a tight labour market, triggering volatility not seen in at least 20 years. 

Retailers face uncertainty heading into the holiday season. Several factors will impact their seasonal hiring goals this year.

The Fed's updated economic projections for 2023 and beyond featured slower growth and higher unemployment, but is this outlook a guarantee?

New projections from the Federal Reserve show increased unemployment and decreased growth will be necessary to bring down inflation. 

Seasonal hiring is officially upon us, but the competition for seasonal workers may be decreased this year.

Canada is facing economic challenges similar to its southern neighbour’s: tight labour market conditions and decades-high inflation.

In August, prices were up 8.3% from the year before, and less volatile core measures remained stubbornly high.

Our new Labor Market Snapshots will help recruiters understand the economic forces shaping their recruitment challenges.

The sector’s employment gains have plateaued after two years of impressive, pandemic-driven growth. Why has the boom petered out?

Moderating wage gains, an increased labor force participation rate, and steady employment gains make for an encouraging August jobs report.

Harry Styles may not be a typical worker but he has one important thing in common with workers across the United States: they’re both in high demand and likely to give up the commute.

Despite high inflation, American consumers are spending steadily. A store of excess savings is helping to finance this continued consumption.

Two recent revisions imply that the U.S. economy is stronger than it seems. The labor market added more jobs than expected, and GDP growth was revised up.

Education has been a difficult industry to recruit for since COVID began. Now, several parts of the U.S. are facing teacher shortages.

July’s inflation numbers have sparked a debate within the economics world. Should inflation be discussed as a year over year change? Or month over month?

Retailers experienced steady sales in July, balanced by decreased spending at gasoline stations and increased spending at building supply stores.

Countries across the world are facing high inflation, economic fallout from a pandemic, and an energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine.

Evidence of cracks in the jobs market are hard to find but recently many have been pointing to initial unemployment claims.

After months of rising prices, the inflation rate has eased slightly – up 8.5% in July from the year before, compared to June’s 9.1%

The July jobs report obliterated expectations, with 528,000 net new jobs. This marks a full employment recovery from the COVID-19 recession.

Pay is the most important factor when searching for a job. Salary transparency laws will help job seekers, but what's the impact on employers?

Over 2.7 million people were hired in the first half of 2022 – a shockingly good number. Yet there seems to be a chorus of negative economic news recently.

The Federal Reserve is set to hike interest rates again on Wednesday. Industries such as construction could see large employment impacts.

Recessions are a painful part of economic reality. Though hard to predict, following key indicators grants insights into possible downturns.

Employment in child day care services has yet to recover from the COVID-19 shock. Parents of young children are suffering – but recruiters can help.

Initial unemployment claims have been rising steadily from historic lows. Are recession fears beginning to sink into a strong labor market?

The consumer price index increased in June, up 9.1% from the year before and 1.3% from May. Broad-based increases contributed to this hike, and high energy prices persisted in driving the report. 

The Fed is happy to see strong payroll gains and moderating wage growth in the June jobs report. Payroll gains of 372,000 and the unemployment rate remaining at 3.6% is simply a great jobs report.

In the face of recession fears, the labor market is still historically tight, but signs of depressurization are beginning to show. The number of job openings in May was 11.3 million, down slightly from April’s number of 11.4 million.

Consumers continued to spend in May, with an increase of 2.1% from one year ago. The shift from goods spending to services spending, a trend we’ve been following, continued as well.

Bombarded by soaring energy prices and constant media commentary, consumers experienced record-low economic confidence in June. Their worries will not go unnoticed, for better or for worse.

The bottom 25% of earners are gaining wages at the highest rate since 1998. Gains made by first quartile earners are outpacing those of higher quartiles by at least a full percent. 

The current labor market is often described as "tight," and it may be hard to visualize what that really means. Considering the ratio of unemployed people to job openings gives a clearer picture of exactly how tight or slack the labor market is.

The Federal Reserve has just announced the highest interest rate hike since 1994.

Summer is upon us. School’s out, vacations are beginning, and people are ready to hit their favorite seasonal locales. However, facing a labor shortage, businesses might have a hard time keeping up this summer.

No, not yet. Higher worker pay isn’t the main culprit behind inflation, but some warning signs suggest that could be the case later this year.

The U.S. economy added a solid 390,000 net new jobs in May 2022. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.6%, nearly a 50-year low.

Employers are still desperate for workers. Layoffs are rare, despite anecdotes to the contrary. Quitting remained elevated, but the “Great Resignation” isn’t getting worse (for now).

Determining how the economy is performing is surprisingly difficult. COVID-19 made economists' jobs even harder, requiring them to develop entirely new methods to measure trends in the labor market.

How does economic growth happen? It’s a hard question to answer but economists have tried for centuries. Perhaps the most famous model came from MIT economist Robert Solow in 1956. The Solow growth model specifies three factors that fuel growth: productivity, capital, and labor. 

Despite ongoing conflict in Europe and the highest inflationary period since the early 1980’s, the US labor market continues to grow briskly.

It’s Teacher Appreciation Week, but some educators aren’t feeling so appreciated.