Employment news

Job Opportunities for Laid-Off Workers Laid off workers have had plenty of job opportunities in recent years. The number of open positions has exceeded the number of unemployed people since May 2021. That means many displaced workers can walk across the street to another company with a “Now Hiring” sign on display. Of course, some laid off workers are in occupations that are being downsized. An escrow agent whose job is eliminated will have trouble finding another job soon, given the broad decline in home sales. But an accountant at the same company may be re-employed quickly in another industry. Specialization, then, limits rapid readjustment of the labor force. Time Lags Lead to Headline-Data Mismatch Time lags account for some of the disparity between current news and employment statistics. Residential construction employment, for example, has been roughly flat the last few months even though housing starts have dropped sharply. Current construction activity, though, is on projects begun some time in the past. That’s even more pronounced in apartment construction, which is 40% of the new housing units. So the drop-off of new housing starts takes time to translate into employment declines, but it eventually will. The normal process of a recession begins with interest-rate sensitive parts of the economy: single family home construction, multi-family construction, non-residential construction, business capital spending and big-ticket consumer spending (cars, RVs and boats)...

Construction workers prepare steel for a crane at the site of JPMorgan Chase's new headquarters in New York City on May 18, 2023. Builders added jobs this month despite the headwinds from higher interest rates. It was another indication of the country's strong job market. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Spencer Platt/Getty Images Construction workers prepare steel for a crane at the site of JPMorgan Chase's new headquarters in New York City on May 18, 2023. Builders added jobs this month despite the headwinds from higher interest rates. It was another indication of the country's strong job market. Spencer Platt/Getty Images It's still a good time to be looking for a job. The It was a number that blew past expectations, considering the headwinds facing the economy including higher interest rates. Analysts had forecast around 190,000 jobs would be added. Loading... In addition to last month's big number, job growth for March and April – which were already pretty solid – were revised even higher, by a total of 93,000 jobs. Robust job growth is good for the economy. But it could also complicate the Federal Reserve's job in fighting inflation. Here are five things to know about the country's sizzling jobs market – and what it means for the economy. The gains were remarkably broad based Job growth last month was widespread, in an indication of how strong the labor market was in May. Health care, hospitality and business services each added tens of thousand...

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/november-jobs-report-unemployment-rate-economy-growth-2022-11669944597 The layoff announcements just keep coming. As interest rates continue to climb and earnings slump, WSJ’s Dion Rabouin explains why we can expect to see a bigger wave of layoffs in the near future. Illustration: Elizabeth Smelov The U.S. labor market remains historically tight, with many employers competing for a limited pool of workers and bidding up wages despite an Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8