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Job Growth Slowed in June but Remains Healthy

The labor market continues to be resilient. There are signs that the unprecedented growth over the last three years is gradually leveling off, but the market still shows strength. The U.S. economy added more jobs in June than expected. Still, the gains were narrow, primarily across a few sectors, including health care and social assistance, government and construction. Several sectors saw employment shrink, including manufacturing, retail trade and professional and business services. Yet, the market is strong, and rising unemployment with slowing wage growth should help bring inflation under control without tipping the economy into recession. The June jobs report could pressure the Fed to cut interest rates finally.

Hiring managers have a powerful influence on recruitment success, candidate engagement, selection, offer acceptance and retention strategies. In today’s job market, collaboration between HR leaders, recruiters and hiring managers is essential. However, many HR organizations struggle to find ways to effectively influence hiring managers’ skills and behaviors, which influence recruiting and retention outcomes. We asked the talent acquisition experts on our advisory board to discuss their priorities and challenges in helping hiring managers succeed. Below is a summary of the discussions that took place.

The U.S. economy added a far-better-than-expected 272,000 jobs in May, while the unemployment rate edged up to 4%, its highest level in more than two years. The labor market remains strong, with good news in terms of growth and participation. It continues to fuel the economy and support workers. At the same time, the report has some concerning, underlying numbers to watch, such as the unemployment rate, wage growth, part-time employment rate and the number of discouraged workers leaving the workforce.

Darren Findley, President of Engage2Excel Recruitment Solutions, has a unique perspective on today’s job market based on three decades of recruiting experience across all major industry sectors. He shared the following key statistics* in our last Trendicators Report, along with insights on trends and how to optimize recruiting for 2023: