By: Kellie Lail
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has released its July 2023 Report, so let’s take a look at how employment fared over the last month.
The great news is:
- In July, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 187,000 people.
- The unemployment rate in July decreased by 0.1% to 3.5%, remaining in the narrow window of 3.4%-3.7% unemployment that has been maintained since March of 2022. The number of unemployed persons in July decreased to 5.8 million.
- Social assistance, financial activities, wholesale trade, and health care garnered the largest share of new jobs over the last month.
The good news is:
- In July, average hourly earnings for private non-farm payroll jobs increased by 0.4%, or 14 cents, to $33.74. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 4.4% and the average work week for these employees decreased slightly with an average work week of 34.3 hours in July.
- The labor force participation rate remained the same in July at 62.6%, for the fifth month in a row, still remaining below the pre-pandemic level of 63.3%.
The bad news is:
- The number of people not in the labor force who currently want a job was slightly decreased to 5.4 million people in May. Keep in mind, these 5.4 million people were not counted as unemployed because they were unavailable to take a job or were not actively looking for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey.
- The number of discouraged workers who believed there were no jobs available to them increased from June by 25,000 to 335,000 people.
- The number of long-term unemployed, people who were without a job for 27 weeks or more, was mildly increased at 1.2 million people, accounting for 19.9% of total unemployed persons.
Keep in mind: With the number of unemployed persons remaining relatively steady over recent months, competition in the job market continues to build. Transparency is key. You want to ensure candidates know exactly what they are signing up for when applying to your job. To attract the best candidates, you must show them that you are the most competitive employer in terms of salary, benefits, career stability, remote or flexibility options, and career growth opportunities. Also, it is incredibly important to ensure you are meeting all of the job board guidelines to ensure your jobs are visible. Check out our Help Center or reach out to our Support Team to ensure your ad meets board guidelines.