January Job Growth Obliterates Economist Expectations Despite Government Shutdown
U.S. employers shrugged off last month’s partial government shutdown and engaged in a burst of hiring in January, adding 304,000 jobs, the most in nearly a year.
The healthy gain the government reported Friday illustrated the job market’s durability nearly a decade into the economic expansion.
The U.S. has now added jobs for 100 straight months, the longest such period on record.
The government also said the unemployment rate rose to 4 percent from 3.9 percent, but mostly for a technical reason: Roughly 175,000 federal workers were counted as temporarily unemployed because of the shutdown.
Job growth in December was revised sharply lower, to 222,000 from a previously estimated 312,000. Still, hiring has accelerated since last summer, a development that has surprised economists, because hiring typically slows when unemployment is so low.
The solid jobs report provided a note of reassurance that the economy remains mostly healthy and likely to shake off any effects of the shutdown.
The shutdown will probably end up slowing the economy’s growth for the first three months of the year. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that it lowered annual growth for the January-March quarter by about 0.4 percentage point, to a rate of 2.1 percent.
Thousands of government workers who missed two paychecks slowed their spending. The federal government itself also spent less. In addition, many businesses across the country lost income. Tourists cut back on visits to national parks, for example, thereby hurting nearby restaurants and hotels.
Yet even employers whose revenue dropped likely held onto their workers during January. With unemployment so low and many companies struggling to fill jobs, layoffs might not have been widespread.
Data from the employment site Glassdoor shows that the number of job postings rose nearly 9 percent in late January compared with a year earlier, suggesting that demand for labor remained strong.
The partial government shutdown has delayed the release of a range of government data about the economy, including statistics on housing, factory orders and fourth-quarter growth.
Maryland Adds More Than 50,000 Jobs in 2018
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) today released state jobs and unemployment data. According to the preliminary survey data, Maryland added 4,900 jobs in December, the ninth month in 2018 to post over-the-month job gains. Maryland’s unemployment rate has now fallen to 3.9%, the same as the U.S. unemployment rate.
Compared with this time last year, Maryland jobs are up by 50,900, for an over-the-year increase of 1.9 percent. Private sector jobs have grown as well, with 51,000 jobs added over the year, an increase of 2.3%.
“Maryland’s economy continues its excellent record of growth,” said Acting Labor Secretary James E. Rzepkowski. “In this steady business environment, employers have the latitude to invest in and grow their workforce. Maryland’s nationally recognized workforce development programs leverage stakeholder input to identify specific industry needs, and then direct resources to meet those needs. In this way, we are working together to build our talent and create innovative, effective career pathways for Maryland workers.”
Both the Professional and Business Services and Education and Health Services sectors continued to grow last month, posting the highest gains of all sectors. 1,900 jobs were created within Professional and Business Services, the majority within the Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (1,800 jobs) subsector. The remaining 100 jobs were within Management of Companies and Enterprises. Education and Health Services similarly added 1,900 jobs in December: 1,800 jobs within Health Care and Social Assistance, and 100 jobs in Educational Services.
Manufacturing (900 jobs), Mining, Logging and Construction (600 jobs), Trade, Transportation and Utilities (300 jobs), Information (300 jobs), and Leisure and Hospitality (100 jobs) also experienced growth last month. Of note, Transportation, Warehousing and Utilities – a subsector of Trade, Transportation and Utilities – experienced an increase of 1,100 jobs in December.
Only two sectors experienced decline last month. Financial Activities decreased by 1,200 jobs across the Finance and Insurance (700 jobs) and Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (500 jobs) subsectors. Other Services decreased by 600 jobs.
The state’s preliminary jobs estimate for November was revised downwards by BLS by 1,700 jobs to a gain of 6,200 jobs over-the-month.
http://dllr.maryland.gov/whatsnews/mlr.shtml
U.S. employers shrugged off last month’s partial government shutdown and engaged in a burst of hiring in January, adding 304,000 jobs, the most in nearly a year.
The healthy gain the government reported Friday illustrated the job market’s durability nearly a decade into the economic expansion.
The U.S. has now added jobs for 100 straight months, the longest such period on record.
The government also said the unemployment rate rose to 4 percent from 3.9 percent, but mostly for a technical reason: Roughly 175,000 federal workers were counted as temporarily unemployed because of the shutdown.
Job growth in December was revised sharply lower, to 222,000 from a previously estimated 312,000. Still, hiring has accelerated since last summer, a development that has surprised economists, because hiring typically slows when unemployment is so low.
The solid jobs report provided a note of reassurance that the economy remains mostly healthy and likely to shake off any effects of the shutdown.
The shutdown will probably end up slowing the economy’s growth for the first three months of the year. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that it lowered annual growth for the January-March quarter by about 0.4 percentage point, to a rate of 2.1 percent.
Thousands of government workers who missed two paychecks slowed their spending. The federal government itself also spent less. In addition, many businesses across the country lost income. Tourists cut back on visits to national parks, for example, thereby hurting nearby restaurants and hotels.
Yet even employers whose revenue dropped likely held onto their workers during January. With unemployment so low and many companies struggling to fill jobs, layoffs might not have been widespread.
Data from the employment site Glassdoor shows that the number of job postings rose nearly 9 percent in late January compared with a year earlier, suggesting that demand for labor remained strong.
The partial government shutdown has delayed the release of a range of government data about the economy, including statistics on housing, factory orders and fourth-quarter growth.
Maryland Adds More Than 50,000 Jobs in 2018
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) today released state jobs and unemployment data. According to the preliminary survey data, Maryland added 4,900 jobs in December, the ninth month in 2018 to post over-the-month job gains. Maryland’s unemployment rate has now fallen to 3.9%, the same as the U.S. unemployment rate.
Compared with this time last year, Maryland jobs are up by 50,900, for an over-the-year increase of 1.9 percent. Private sector jobs have grown as well, with 51,000 jobs added over the year, an increase of 2.3%.
“Maryland’s economy continues its excellent record of growth,” said Acting Labor Secretary James E. Rzepkowski. “In this steady business environment, employers have the latitude to invest in and grow their workforce. Maryland’s nationally recognized workforce development programs leverage stakeholder input to identify specific industry needs, and then direct resources to meet those needs. In this way, we are working together to build our talent and create innovative, effective career pathways for Maryland workers.”
Both the Professional and Business Services and Education and Health Services sectors continued to grow last month, posting the highest gains of all sectors. 1,900 jobs were created within Professional and Business Services, the majority within the Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (1,800 jobs) subsector. The remaining 100 jobs were within Management of Companies and Enterprises. Education and Health Services similarly added 1,900 jobs in December: 1,800 jobs within Health Care and Social Assistance, and 100 jobs in Educational Services.
Manufacturing (900 jobs), Mining, Logging and Construction (600 jobs), Trade, Transportation and Utilities (300 jobs), Information (300 jobs), and Leisure and Hospitality (100 jobs) also experienced growth last month. Of note, Transportation, Warehousing and Utilities – a subsector of Trade, Transportation and Utilities – experienced an increase of 1,100 jobs in December.
Only two sectors experienced decline last month. Financial Activities decreased by 1,200 jobs across the Finance and Insurance (700 jobs) and Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (500 jobs) subsectors. Other Services decreased by 600 jobs.
The state’s preliminary jobs estimate for November was revised downwards by BLS by 1,700 jobs to a gain of 6,200 jobs over-the-month.
http://dllr.maryland.gov/whatsnews/mlr.shtml
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