Analysis of the BLS Employment Situation Report March 2014 Employment
APRIL
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2014
VOLUME 8
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ISSUE 4
The full report can be seen here: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.htm. Employment numbers may not have been their highest in March, but experts remain hopeful that the economy will continue to strengthen throughout the next several months. Now that winter has finally passed and companies have the capacity to build their workforce, industries are reporting improvements in hiring, production and output. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the country added 192,000 jobs in the month of March. This number is slightly lower than economists' prediction of 200,000, but still illustrates continued recovery. Unemployment remained unchanged at 6.7 percent.
While the majority of industries reported growth, health care, professional and business services, and mining and logging experienced the greatest increases in hiring. Professional and business services added the most jobs, hiring more than 57,000 people in March. Other areas that reported higher numbers included computer systems design and related services, which hired 6,000 people, and architectural and engineering services, which added 5,000 positions. Health care posted 19,000 positions while mining and logging added 7,000. Employment in oil and gas within the mining field remained relatively unchanged.
Joseph Lake, a U.S. analyst for The Economic Intelligence Unit, explained that the growth could be attributed to companies performing better in the warmer months.
The report noted that construction continued to strengthen across the country as well. The industry added 19,000 jobs in the U.S., but overall employment has gone up by more than 151,000 positions within the last year. Many states have posted improved construction numbers in the past two months, including Minnesota and Michigan. Despite the fact that the majority of states reported high manufacturing employment recently, the report indicated that national numbers remained unchanged.
"Firms and consumers are making investments they deferred in January," Lake said, as quoted by Forbes. "This bounce in economic activity is driving companies to hire at a faster rate...The February and March payroll numbers are promising and suggest that the economy is shaking off the effects of the inclement weather."
As the year continues to progress, economists predict employment numbers will rise across the industries. According to Lake, while total employment was lower than predicted, the overall number of people entering the job force was much higher, signaling continued economic growth in the country.
Chart 1. Unemployment rate, seasonally adjusted, March 2012 – March 2014
Chart 2. Nonfarm payroll employment over-the-month change, seasonally adjusted, March 2012 – March 2014
Percent
Thousands
10.0
400 350 300
9.0
250 200
8.0
150 100 50
7.0
0 -50
6.0
-100 Mar-12 Jun-12 Sep-12 Dec-12 Mar-13 Jun-13 Sep-13 Dec-13 Mar-14
Mar-12 Jun-12 Sep-12 Dec-12 Mar-13 Jun-13 Sep-13 Dec-13 Mar-14
FIRST FRIDAY REPORT UNITED STATES Bridging Generational Gaps in 2020 As we move towards the 2020 workforce, companies face an interesting demographic dynamic in terms of talent acquisition – a workforce comprised of millennials, Gen Xers, baby boomers and traditionalists. While each of these groups has their own generational differences, the most notable are the expectations and approaches to work between millennials, who will make up the majority of the workforce, and baby boomers. With the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook handbook projecting total employment to increase by 15.6 million jobs between 2010 to 2020, generational differences will become an additional component of diversity relations at the workplace. Recruiters and hiring staff must learn to recognize the combined value, perspectives and impact of successfully integrating these distinctly different generations into an organization’s teams, ultimately improving the company’s ability to develop solutions, products and services for the future. Millennials Millennials entering the workforce have frequently been characterized as individuals born between 1980 and 2000, who are entitled, lazy, job-hoppers, overly ambitious and unaware of business etiquette. Regardless of how accurate these descriptions are, this generation has demonstrated that it is in search of meaning and purpose.
Recent PrincetonOne Analysis “Employers are facing challenges due to business conditions that are not comparable to pre-recession levels. Only a small percentage of employers have reported that their business has returned to normal or is better than it was before 2007. The staffing challenges for employers include finding qualified candidates, retaining top employees and lifting employee morale. Assisting employers to overcome these challenges should be a primary focus for us as strategic business partners.” Tony DeFelice Strategic Account Director PrincetonOne
Notable International Events »
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Baby Boomers A growing number of workers age 55 to 64 are continuing to work longer, yet in 2020 this generation of workers will only make up about 20 percent of the workforce. They have an entirely different approach to work than millennials and are often characterized as conscientious, dedicated, independent-minded workers that enjoy working alone on projects and then rejoining the team to reveal results.
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Hopes are high that world-beating advanced manufacturers, creating hundreds of well-paid, hi-tech jobs and bringing millions of pounds into the local economy will be attracted to the Sheffield City Region by Sheffield University's new campus. The economy is stumbling along at 2 percent annual GDP growth and employment growth continues to disappoint. One bright spot is energy, which is booming despite government obstacles. The Department of Trade and Industry has asked major players in the global aerospace industry to make the Philippines their prime hub in the region for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) of their aircraft, given the country's growing capacities to serve this sector.
Despite the generational differences, millennials and baby boomers do have things in common. Both groups are focused on excellent job performance, and that can work to an organization’s advantage. Millennials bring technology savvy and work efficiencies that can benefit companies. Baby boomers have the ability to provide millennials with insight on work etiquette, the company’s culture and career tracking by demonstrating clear paths for advancement in the company. This type of relationship satisfies millennials’ need for ongoing training, mentorship and collaboration, while providing baby boomers with job stability and value as experienced employees. Companies end up with improved work synergies and succession planning for the organization’s future leaders.
