Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 428,000 in April.
Unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.6 percent.
Job growth was widespread, led by gains in leisure and hospitality, in manufacturing, and in transportation and warehousing.
The number of unemployed remained essentially unchanged at 5.9 million.
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) little changed at 1.5 million.
The number of job leavers – that is, unemployed persons who quit or voluntarily left their previous job and began looking for new employment – rose by 6,000 to 793,000 in April.
Looking Forward:
The 428,000 net new jobs last month in the Labor Department’s Friday report is mildly encouraging since every major industry added workers. But the report also contains a warning that inflationary pressure may be starting to hurt the labor market.
While the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.6%, the labor participation rate fell 0.2 percentage points to 62.2%. Labor participation and the workforce have been trending up since January 2021 as lockdowns eased and vaccines rolled out. April represented the biggest labor participation decline since September 2020.
Worker paychecks can’t buy as much as they did even a few months ago, and those without the luxury to work from home have been slammed by surging gasoline prices. Expectations for continued economic growth rest with solid consumer spending, but the jobs report raises the question of how long this will continue if real wages keep falling.
The report likely will do little to sway the Federal Reserve from its current path of interest rate increases. The central bank announced Wednesday it would raise its benchmark interest rate half a percentage point in what will be an ongoing effort to stamp out price increases running at their fastest pace in more than 40 years.
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 431,000 in March.
Unemployment rate edged down by 0.2 percent to 3.6 percent.
Notable job gains continued in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, retail trade, and manufacturing.
The number of unemployed persons edged down to 6 million.
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) decreased by 274,000 to 1.4 million.
The number of job leavers – that is, unemployed persons who quit or voluntarily left their previous job and began looking for new employment – fell by 176,000 to 787,000 in March.
Looking Forward:
U.S. job growth continued at a robust pace in March while the unemployment rate fell, as the Covid-19 pandemic’s grip on the labor market recedes and more workers return to the labor force.
Inflation has eroded consumers’ spending power: Hourly pay, adjusted for higher consumer prices, fell 2.6% in February from a year earlier — the 11th straight month in which inflation has outpaced year-over-year wage growth. According to AAA, average gasoline prices, at $4.23 a gallon, are up a dizzying 47% from a year ago.
Businesses are eager to onboard new employees and are raising wages in order to attract workers as they confront a labor shortage. There are roughly 11.3 million open jobs – the third-highest on record – while the pace of layoffs has moderated in recent months.
Millions of workers are seeing the largest pay gains in years, as companies compete with one another for a limited number of employees: Wages climbed 5.6% in March from the previous year, nearly double the pre-pandemic average of 3%. Many of those gains have been eroded, however, by the highest inflation in nearly four decades that has pushed the price of everyday necessities like gasoline, clothing, and food significantly higher.
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 678,000 in February.
Unemployment rate edged down by 0.2 percent to 3.8 percent.
Job growth was widespread over the month, led by gains in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, health care, and construction.
The number of unemployed persons edged down to 6.3 million.
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was essentially unchanged at 1.7 million.
Among the unemployed, the number of job leavers increased to 963,000 in February.
Looking Forward:
Job growth accelerated last month, as falling coronavirus cases brought customers back to businesses and workers back to the office.
The U.S. economy still has roughly two million fewer jobs than before the mass layoffs that began two years ago this month, and some workers remain sidelined by health concerns, child care problems or other factors. Many companies still report having trouble finding enough staff to meet demand.
The labor market recovery has overcome every obstacle. Job openings are near a record high. Layoffs are at a new low. And hiring has remained strong in the ebb and flow of successive waves of the pandemic — employers have added at least 400,000 jobs every month since May, the longest such streak on record.
Labor’s survey was conducted before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drove up energy prices and rocked markets, developments that economists say could crimp business confidence and hiring in coming months. Gas prices have soared above $5 a gallon in southern California, a state with the highest gas prices in the country, and the rest of the country may soon follow, according to a fuel analyst.
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 467,000 in January.
Unemployment rate edged up by 0.1 percent to 4.0 percent.
Employment growth continued in leisure and hospitality, in professional and business services, in retail trade, and in transportation and warehousing.
The number of unemployed persons decreased by 467,000 to 6.5 million.
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) declined by 300,000 to 1.7 million in January.
Among the unemployed, the number of job leavers increased to 952,000 in January, following a decrease in the prior month.
Looking Forward:
A record-setting spike in coronavirus cases wasn’t enough to derail the job market recovery at the beginning of the year. Hiring rose higher than expectations.
Service industries were hit hard in January as the latest coronavirus surge led to absences among employees, kept customers away and compounded supply constraints. Perhaps no sector was struck harder than the restaurant and bar industry.
“The economic fallout from each successive wave of the pandemic has been smaller and smaller,” Nick Bunker, economist at jobs site Indeed, said in a note. “This trend, along with strong demand for workers suggests 2022 could be a year with continued strong gains for the labor market.”
The unemployment rate rose slightly in January to 4% from 3.9% in December, with more people joining the workforce. Low joblessness is helping spur wage growth. Wages climbed 5.7% in January from a year earlier, nearly double the average of about 3% before the pandemic hit.
Omicron still affected the job market in January. The variant sent millions of sick workers into quarantine, exacerbating labor shortages at restaurants, airlines and public-transit systems. 3.6 million Americans were employed but absent from work due to illness in January, up from two million in Jan 2021 and 1.1 million in Jan 2020.
It’s a New Year, but it is more of the same for many workers. The Omicron variant of the ever-changing Coronavirus has forced many of us to work remotely, postpone travel plans, and cancel social gatherings, which has further strained our mental well-being.
We know that worker morale is low.
The mental health strain may be most evident at work, where workers experience burnout and are frustrated by their lack of a healthy work-life balance.
In one survey from Talkspace, an online mental health company, 50% of employees felt that work has become too stressful. Many reported working longer hours and feeling pressure to work harder because of managing high employee turnover and juggling multiple projects at once.
And low morale is leading to resignations.
Workers are in a rut, and some are even quitting their jobs to find a better situation with another company or in another profession altogether. 4.5 million workers quit their jobs in November alone. While compensation and benefits are factors, work-life balance, career development, and workplace perks are essential as well.
In our Employee Retention Guide, we discuss some of the reasons why workers are resigning in record numbers. If you haven’t had the opportunity to read it yet, it may be helpful to learn how to market internally to your employees and provide a positive working environment.
Why are mental health discussions between employers and employees necessary?
As employers and employees alike navigate through the ups and downs of the pandemic and other issues affecting mental well-being in the workplace, we know that solid communication is essential.
Many organizations invest in wellness programs that cost billions of dollars, but few understand how their employees feel on a daily basis. This is where managers need to roll up their sleeves and discover what tools and programs can help their employees and coworkers.
But this is easier said than done.
That’s why we want to share a few simple tips with you that might help facilitate honest mental health discussions with your employees. Hopefully, these tips will allow you to be more effective in developing a framework to enhance their well-being.
What does well-being in the workplace look like?
Before we list any tips, let’s define what well-being in the workplace looks like so you can apply that definition to your discussions with employees.
A comprehensive study conducted by Myers-Briggs investigated well-being in the workplace. For over three years, researchers asked more than 10,000 participants about the activities that would contribute to feelings of flourishment while on the job.
The researchers found that well-being was more than just happiness (although it was undoubtedly a contributing factor). They concluded that positive well-being was dependent on the following factors:
Positive Emotions: Frequent feelings of happiness, contentment, and pleasure
Relationships: Mutual feelings of caring, support, and satisfaction
Engagement: Deep psychological connection and absorption in an activity or cause
Meaning: Having a sense of purpose and direction
Accomplishment: Pursuing success or mastery for its own sake
Negative Emotions: Low levels of anxiety, pessimism, and depression
How to get started discussing mental health.
According to a Harvard Business Review study with Qualtrics and SAP,almost 40% of employees surveyed said they have never been asked how they were doing by their manager or co-workers. About the same number of respondents said that the pandemic and other factors worsened their mental health.
From those two statistics, we can gather that facilitating an in-person or virtual environment, especially if it encourages a connection amongst coworkers, can go a long way in improving employee morale.
Now, let’s acknowledge the elephant in the room.
It could be awkward to ask employees to share how they feel if it’s new to them and the manager.
Here are several ways managers can make mental health discussions easier to help their employees have a better sense of well-being while on the job:
Make check-ins a regular meeting on the calendar.
Now that so many people are working at least part of the week remotely, it’s easy for their feelings or issues to go unnoticed.
Regular one-on-ones provide the appropriate setting for employees to share how they’re feeling. It’s their time to discuss their career goals, what they may be struggling with, or anything else affecting their overall well-being.
You can make mental health part of the agenda or just take a few meetings during the meeting to ask them how they’re doing. If you sense they are uncomfortable, the next tip may be helpful.
Embrace the vulnerability.
Experts suggest acknowledging the awkwardness up front to break the ice. You could explain how you care about them and want to make sure they are alright, or share your mental challenges to make them more comfortable sharing theirs.
And it doesn’t have to be a free-form discussion, especially for the first time. Creating questions in advance or framing the conversation in a way that encourages them to assess their feelings on a 1-10 scale could be helpful.
If an employee doesn’t feel comfortable sharing, that’s fine. It’s just important that they know that they have someone to speak to if they want.
Offer flexible solutions based on their answers.
Listening is essential, but your employees will want to know that you heard them. Together, you can problem-solve any issues they may be having proactively.
This may mean working towards a solution for the individual employee (maybe they need to leave early on Wednesdays to pick up their child from school) or revising policies to reflect common issues your employees may be dealing with, especially if it’s during a transition point where a lot of changes are happening all at once. Be as generous and compassionate as you are realistically able to ensure your employees feel valued.
If your employees start to see changes around the workplace based on their feedback in meetings, they may be more willing to share and speak up when they experience negativity in the workplace or feel complacent.
Understand that you can always ask for help too.
You might be in a leadership role, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you have all the answers. During an employee discussion, they may have questions about specific policies or resources available to them.
You can always say you’ll get back to them after checking in with HR or your leadership team if you’re unsure. It’s better to come back to them later with a viable solution than to guess or make promises you can’t keep.
This will help you build trust and better understand your wellness resources and policies while determining if they align with your employees’ well-being. If not, an extensive discussion with your leadership team about building a wellness culture should be scheduled.
A Final Message about Well-Being in the Workplace.
We encourage you to review the Myers-Briggs definition of positive well-being in the workplace. If an employee receives positive reinforcement, has strong relationships with co-workers, is engaged with their work, and believes in their career path, they will likely have a stronger sense of well-being in the workplace.
Through your mentorship and communication with employees, you can help build a vital and mentally healthy workplace that is viable in any work environment or external situation.
J & J Staffing Resources is a professional staffing agency that connects local businesses to job seekers throughout the Greater Philadelphia area, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.
We bring over 45 years of expertise in office, industrial, technical, and professional staffing placements as well as payroll management, and offer a wide range of services for both employers and job seekers.
Need help? J & J Staffing has offices in Newark, Bridgeport, Woodbury, Cherry Hill, Ewing, Princeton, Langhorne, and Horsham. Visit your local J & J staffing center or get started below.
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 199,000 in December.
Unemployment rate edged down by 0.3 percentage points to 3.9 percent.
Employment continued to trend up in leisure and hospitality, in professional and business services, in manufacturing, in construction, and in transportation and warehousing.
The number of unemployed persons decreased by 483,000 to 6.3 million.
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) declined by 185,000 to 2.0 million in December.
The number of persons not in the labor force who currently want a job was little changed at 5.7 million in December.
Looking Forward:
Hiring slowed significantly at the end of last year, a stark indication that employers are struggling to fill positions even as the United States remains millions of jobs short of pre-pandemic levels.
Economists said the report increased the chances that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates quickly to cool off the economy, since wage growth threatens to keep prices increasing as businesses try to cover their climbing labor costs.
The report on Friday came with an important caveat: The data was collected in mid-December, before the pandemic’s latest wave revealed its strength. Since then, the Omicron variant has ignited a steep rise in coronavirus cases, driving up hospitalizations and keeping people home from work.
There is widespread optimism that the Omicron surge will be short-lived and that the economy will then regain momentum. But economists are bracing for the surge in cases to curtail job growth in January and in the coming months.
There is plenty of evidence of momentum underlying the uneven economic recovery, and signs abound that jobs are numerous even if workers are hard to find. The share of people quitting their jobs just touched a record, and ashortfall of workers has caused many businesses to curtail hours or services.
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 210,000 in November.
Unemployment rate edged down by 0.4 percentage points to 4.2 percent.
Job growth was widespread, with notable job gains in professional and business services, transportation and warehousing, construction, and manufacturing.
Employment in retail trade declined over the month.
The number of unemployed persons, at 6.9 million, continued to trend down.
In November, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more), at 2.2 million, changed little in November but is 1.1 million higher than in February 2020.
Looking Forward:
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 210,000 in November, following a gain of 546,000 the previous month. The number was well below Wall Street expectations of 573,000.
Professional and business services and transportation and warehousing led gains, while hiring in leisure and hospitality was sluggish and retail lost jobs despite the traditional holiday hiring season.
The U.S. economy created far fewer jobs than expected in November, in a sign that hiring started to slow even ahead of the new Covid threat, the Labor Department reported Friday, December 3rd.
The household survey shows accelerating employment gains, workers returning to the labor force, and low levels of involuntary part-time work. The payroll survey shows a significant deceleration in job growth, particularly in COVID-affected sectors.
Employer demand for workers has been strong for months but the labor shortages have held job gains to solid but less-than-blockbuster levels. In September, COVID’s delta variant kept many Americans cautious and many schools from fully reopening, forcing parents to put off their return to the workplace or job hunts.
The effects of the COVID Omicron variant remain to be seen.
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 531,000 in October.
Unemployment rate edged down by 0.2 percentage points to 4.6 percent.
Job growth was widespread, with notable job gains in leisure and hospitality, in professional and business services, in manufacturing, and in transportation and warehousing.
However, employment in public education declined over the month.
The number of unemployed persons, at 7.4 million, continued
to trend down.
In October, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) decreased by 357,000 to 2.3 million but is 1.2 million higher than in February 2020.
Looking Forward:
Hiring has seesawed this year along with the pandemic, especially in vulnerable sectors like hospitality and retail, where workers must deal face to face with customers. White-collar employees have fared better, since many can work remotely.
Some employers are complaining of a shortage of workers, as many people remain on the sidelines of the job market. The labor force participation rate —the share of the working-age population employed or looking for a job —was flat in October.
In theory, the demand for workers should be drawing more people into the labor force, but the participation rate is nearly two percentage points below where it was before the pandemic. Early retirements have been a factor.
Supply chain problems are another headache for employers. Automobile manufacturers have been particularly hurt by a shortage of semiconductors, while many companies are dealing with rising prices for raw materials and transportation.
The Commerce Department reported last week that the economy grew by 0.5 percent in the third quarter, compared with 1.6 percent in the second quarter. Economists attributed the slowdown to the resurgent pandemic and the supply chain holdups.
4 Core Pillars for Building a Thriving Company Culture
When your team comes together to complete a project or accomplish a company goal, it feels great! The synergy between leaders and employees makes a huge difference, especially when it’s crunch time—so, how can you create and maintain a close-knit and productive company culture?
Your company culture is influenced by many facets; company principles and values, style of management, and employee personalities, to name a few. How positive and productive your company’s culture is depends on how you nurture it.
There are high productivity company cultures where amazing feats seem to happen each week, but everyone is stressed and overworked.
There are laid back company cultures where no one cares, there is no growth, and nothing gets done.
Then there are places where people come together, grow professionally, and thrive as an organization.
If your workplace carries a stressful vibe, constantly misses deadlines, or fails to retain great talent, follow these four pillars as a foundation for how you can build a thriving company culture.
1. Know Who You Are as a Company
Do you have a clear grasp on who you are as a company? Or, what it means to represent your brand?
Company cultures can be strong and very defined or loosely written and inconsistent. The strength of yours depends on how much effort you put in to defining and nurturing it.
Have Clear-Cut Principles and Values
Some companies put little thought into their culture and allow it to simply form organically, however, this doesn’t guarantee a positive culture or one that matches your vision. To help your company grow and keep everyone on the same page, you will want to define a specific list of your company’s principles and values from the start.
When defining principles and values, every company will differ. Nowhere does it say you have to offer flexible hours, a casual dress environment, or career development incentives to be a great company. Each of those things contribute to a specific company culture, but it doesn’t have to be your culture.
When shaping your company’s core ideals and beliefs, consider some of the following questions:
What do you want to see and do when you go to work every day?
What commonalities do each of your current employees share?
What makes you and your employees proud to come to work?
What’s something you would change about the company if possible?
Defining clear principals and values will guide your company culture closer to what you envision it to be.
Defining Company Principles
Principles are a framework for running your business and letting employees know how to operate within your system. A strong set of principles will drive how your employees act and work together. You will want to create principles that will drive productivity and that you can see yourself working in.
Consider these examples:
Teach, don’t give
Don’t try to please everyone
Communicate what is expected
Advocate for what’s best
Lead by example
Defining Company Values
Values are a framework for what your company believes and have a big impact on your company’s culture. These are the traits and qualities you consider worthwhile and can help define the type of people you prefer hire.
Consider these examples:
Family first
Self-improvement
Teamwork and collaboration
Career development
Personal accountability
Diversity
2. Share Your Business Vision
When principles and values are clearly defined, it makes it easy to share your company’s story—the ultimate vision of what the company is set out to achieve. Organizations start thriving when everyone on all levels is clear on the expectations of their role, how to facilitate work as a group, and what the end goal should look like. It’s the role of your leaders and veteran employees to live the company’s story and share it with their peers.
Have a Common Story
It’s easier for people to get onboard if they can get behind the “why” of your story. Whether it’s the story of your services, products, customers, or a charitable cause, company cultures thrive when everyone understands the “why” behind what they are doing; it gives employees a common goal and helps to create an attachment to the work at hand.
Think about what your company’s services or solutions are helping people to achieve and the why behind it—that “why” is what drives teamwork and a sense of community.
Ingrain It In Your Training
You will want to demonstrate your company’s story and goals early on, especially during the interview process, so that potential new hires can get a feel for what the workplace is like and truly understand if the organization is a fit for them or not. The stronger and more apparent your culture is, the faster new employees will catch on.
Look to find ways you can ingrain you story into your training, such as teaching about your company history and looking at future initiatives.
Live It Every Day!
Talking about what you’d like your company culture to be is easy. Living it daily takes practice. You should be setting an example and living your company’s culture every day!
Thriving company cultures have leaders who believe in what is being accomplished and emanate the company’s principles and values. For your culture to grow, you need leaders to demonstrate principles and values through their decision-making. By leading through example, your entire employee base will be more likely to positively embrace your company culture.
Having the right people as your culture champions is important, as you don’t want leaders who are not embodying your principles and values to the fullest.
3. Balance Talent and Character
You have a vision for your company culture, you and your champions are living it every day, now you just have to hire the right people. Easy, right? Right…
Just as people loathe the job search process, businesses also rather not have to go through the hundreds or even thousands of candidates it can take to fill one position. To make your search easier, try not to expend all your time searching for the perfect resume (the “unicorn” employee). Often, and employee’s character can play just as large of a role, if not larger, than talent. Shift your focus on searching for someone that might not have all the skills, but that fits your culture and who is willing to work on molding to the role you need.
Don’t Chase the Unicorn
That perfect employee you are searching for may not be a unicorn after all! More often than not, the perfect talent match you are dreaming of is not the right fit culturally, and vise-versa. You may find out in the first interview that the person’s character is way off or out-of-balance with the rest of your team.
The moral here is not to judge an interviewee on their resume alone. The best way to find out more about their character is by bringing them in for an interview.
You Can’t Teach Character
You can teach a new employee how to use a technology, follow a process, or even a new skill, but you can’t change who they are—you can’t change their character. As you narrow down your list of potential candidates, character needs to play a large role in your selection, because it’s something you can’t change.
Character Creates Culture
Employee character and company culture are mutually supportive. When your organization is built of unique individuals with great character, you’re going to have a better chance for a great company culture.
“I’m not looking for the best players, I’m looking for the right ones.” – Herb Brooks
If you put a team together base on talent alone, you may be left with a lack of communication, collaboration, and synergy.
4. Focus On Employee Retention
Long-term, experienced employees are the backbone of company culture. They are the champions of your vision, the people that others are sad to see go, and the ones that other companies are waiting for an opportunity to hire. You need these people to succeed!
Companies with great retention rates that hold on to these champions give the impression of stability, something most workers want. It also shows job candidates the potential for building their career and long-lasting work relationships.
Benefits add a lot of value to a company’s culture and can help your company stand out from the rest. Why you may not be able to compete with the “Silicon Valley” style of offerings (fully stocked lunchroom, employee lounge and gameroom, flexible work hours), be realistic and consider things that can directly benefit the employee while benefiting your company in return.
Consider…
Paying for continued training (certifications, conferences, degree programs).
Transit benefits—great for city businesses and saves gas money.
A stocked coffee bar—save employees money while showing them you care!
Your provided benefits should reflect your company’s values and the type of job-seeker you are trying to attract.
Dress Code and Technology Usage
A bearded millenial in jeans and a hoodie, walking around texting on his phone!? The office environment has drastically changed over the last decade, and it’s important that your organization keeps up with the times.
Beards, jeans, hoodies, cell phones are all acceptable… In the right workplace—and that’s the key! The rules around what’s appropriate in your work environment will play a big impact on your culture, so create something that you can see yourself working in. Do what makes sense for your work environment.
Many job positions with no customer interactions are becoming more lenient towards attire and appearance, leaving judgment to an individual’s talent, work ethic, and character.
Jobs with front-facing customer interaction should still dress to the level that meets customer expectations while giving off the impression your business is going for.
Promote From Within
Promoting employees to higher positions within your company can benefit both your bottom line and the company’s culture. First, it helps with retention, as employees will feel assured they can continue their career paths with you. Second, you will benefit from the expertise of an employee you have nurtured through the ranks as someone who doesn’t have to be brought up to speed on the company’s values, goals, plans, or message.
Staffing Services In Greater Philadelphia
J & J Staffing Resources is a professional staffing agency that connects local businesses to job seekers throughout the Greater Philadelphia area, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.
We bring over 45 years of expertise in office, industrial, technical, and professional staffing placements as well as payroll management, and offer a wide range of services for both employers and job seekers.
Need help? J & J Staffing has offices in Newark, Bridgeport, Woodbury, Cherry Hill, Ewing, Princeton, Langhorne, and Horsham. Visit your local J & J staffing center or get started below.
