The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released their monthly overview of the US employment situation and the data for January looks encouraging. The labor department jobs report examines a range of US jobs data to gauge the overall health of the US economy, specifically the number of jobs added, the unemployment rate, and what industries are hiring now.
Before we get to the January jobs report, let’s revisit December’s US job numbers. Last month, the BLS reported that nonfarm payroll employment increased by 145,000 jobs. The unemployment rate held steady at 3.5% (approximately 5.8 million professionals). A deeper look at the US jobs data and industries hiring in 2019 showed promising growth in a few areas while others declined or registered no change at all.
The January jobs report showed total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 225,000, unemployment rose very slightly to 3.6%, and the number of unemployed persons grew to 5.9 million.
Here are some other highlights of the labor department jobs report:
January saw promising growth for a few industries hiring in 2020. Bolstered by specialty trade contractors, construction led the way with 44,000 jobs added in January. We also saw employment growth in health care, transportation and warehousing, leisure and hospitality, and professional and business services in January:
Key industries like manufacturing, mining, wholesale trade, retail trade, information, financial activities, and government saw little change.
Overall, the labor department jobs report suggests the economy is in good shape. Whether you’re looking for top talent or searching for your dream job, there’s still plenty of opportunity out there, and you can find it on iHire.