April 5th, 2024 the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Q1 2024 results.
This report includes interesting information regarding the employment situation in the United States, starting with this: payroll employment rose by 303,000 in March.
Previous monthly gains averaged 231,000 over the last 12 months, which was about 72,000 higher than average.
Meanwhile, many still say they are struggling to find a job. There seems to be a divide between experts, the government, and those seeking employment. Some employers have opened positions to the public, but do not fill them (or at best have been filling the jobs internally). Some have speculated that this tactic is to make employees who are overwhelmed and overworked feel like there is more help on the way. Others have speculated that this is to keep shareholders happy, as it shows growth potential. We know that employers have been looking to keep candidate records on file to see what the current candidate pool looks like for them and their competitors.
Regardless of the reason, the reality and what we’re told still seem to have some sort of disconnect, at least as of April 2024. Many job seekers have reported spending months applying to several hundred (if not thousands) of jobs, only to continue looking.
Sources
Lee, J. (2024). Economists say the labor market is strong — but job seekers don’t share that confidence. Here’s why. https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/02/why-it-feels-so-hard-to-get-a-job-right-now.html#:~:text=But%20active%20job%20seekers%20say,of%20four%20callbacks%20or%20responses.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2024). Employment Situation Summary. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
