1. February 7, 2014
U.S. EMPLOYERS HIRED
A TOTAL OF
AVERAGE HOURLY EARNINGS
(ALL WORKERS)
THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
FELL TO
113,000
$24.21
6.6%
WORKERS IN JANUARY
1.9% ABOVE LAST YEAR
7.9% LAST JANUARY
ANEMIC JOB CREATION CONTINUES INTO 2014
• A second straight month of sub-par employment gains: just 188,000 jobs were
created in December and January combined.
• Despite the lackluster hiring totals, the unemployment picture improved slightly, as
the unemployment rate edged down and labor force participation rose.
• With a labor market that has shifted into low gear, there are growing concerns that
the U.S. economy may be losing some momentum.
The pace of hiring remained sluggish to begin 2014, as January’s job gains totaled just 113,000, following an increase of 75,000 in
December—again well below consensus expectations. The BLS’ annual revisions to the prior year’s employment data brought a little better
news. Total payroll gains for 2013 were revised upwards by 136,000, raising last year’s average monthly job increase to 194,000—a slight
acceleration from 186,000 per month in 2012.
(Continued)

2. Talent Market Monthly: February 7, 2014
After a solid performance in the summer and fall of
2013, winter has ushered in a surprisingly weak U.S.
labor market, with two straight months of disappointing
job gains. Although the outlook for the rest of 2014 is
still positive, this slowdown in job creation will likely
renew some fears about the strength of both the labor
market and the economy.
10.0
300
9.0
200
8.0
100
7.0
0
6.0
Total non-farm employment growth
Unemployment rate
EMPLOYMENT OVERVIEW
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC
JAN
Total non-farm employment growth
202K
164K
237K
274K
75K
113K
Private sector employment growth
180K
153K
247K
272K
89K
142K
Unemployment rate
7.2%
7.2%
7.2%
7.0%
6.7%
6.6%
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
LONG TERM WOES
Although unemployment continues to decline, there are still more than 10 million
people out of a job in the United States. More than half of those workers have
been unemployed for 15 weeks or more, and more than a third for 27 weeks or
more. According to a new survey from CareerBuilder, many of the long-term
unemployed continue to face significant challenges in their search for new jobs.
Forty-five percent of unemployed workers say that they are concerned that the
extended period of joblessness has caused their skills to depreciate, with the loss
of technology skills a chief concern for more than half. And nearly two-thirds of
workers (63%) say that the longer they are unemployed, the less responsive
employers seem to have become. For those who have been out of work the
longest, the job market has been particularly harsh: 30% of people who have been
unemployed for a year or more say they have not had a single job interview in
that time.
But many of the very long-term unemployed remain optimistic, building up skills
and searching for new opportunities. Twenty percent say they’ve boosted their
networking; the same number (20%) have volunteered, and 12% have taken a
class. More than four in ten (43%) of respondents say they look for jobs every day.
An Equal Opportunity Employer ©2013 Kelly Services, Inc. W1093e. Kelly Services, Inc. makes no representation or warranty with respect to the material contained in this report.
Source: CareerBuilder, 01.24.14; BLS
Unemployment Rate (%)
400
Jan-11
Feb-11
Mar-11
Apr-11
May-11
Jun-11
Jul-11
Aug-11
Sep-11
Oct-11
Nov-11
Dec-11
Jan-12
Feb-12
Mar-12
Apr-12
May-12
Jun-12
Jul-12
Aug-12
Sep-12
Oct-12
Nov-12
Dec-12
Jan 13
Feb 13
Mar 13
Apr 13
May 13
Jun 13
Jul 13
Aug 13
Sep 13
Oct 13
Nov 13
Dec 13
Jan 14
Construction was one of the biggest job producers in
January, adding 48,000 jobs, while the manufacturing
sector also showed solid employment gains (+21,000).
Hiring in health care was flat for the second month in a
row, and retail employment saw a post-holiday decline
(-13,000). Government employment fell by 29,000 in
January, with job losses at the U.S. Postal Service
accounting for nearly a third of the decline (-9,000).
U.S. MONTHLY EMPLOYMENT CHANGE AND UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
Employment (000s)
The unemployment rate inched down again to 6.6%,
representing significant and steady progress over last
January’s 7.9%. The improvement in unemployment
came even as the labor force gained around a half
million workers, and the labor force participation rate
also edged up for the month.