October 2019 Economic Report

Zac Reinke

November 1, 2019

The October 2019 Economic Report below was created just for you, employers. It is fueled by information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau, Yahoo Finance, and FedPrimeRate.com so that you can make better hiring decisions. After the report, check out this month’s hiring tip about today’s graduates’ expectations.

Hiring Tip

A new survey from theEMPLOYEEapp has just been unleashed that reveals what today’s graduates expect from employers. Not surprisingly, the results mirror the flexible way these students have lived and operated during their school years. Here are a few of their expectations:

• Flexible and remote work options.
• High-quality training and onboarding.
• Communication of important company information and cultural fit/values that align with their own.

You might be thinking, “Not another survey! And why should I have to cater to what these grads expect, anyway?” It only matters if you need to make a new hire or want to keep your hiring pipeline filled for future hires…something Amtec encourages every employer to be doing. In short, preparing for the next generation of graduates will help future-proof your company.

Read more.

Summary

If you’re unable to view the October 2019 Economic Report, here’s a summary:

• The unemployment rate, at 3.6%, and the number of unemployed persons, at 5.9 million, changed little in October.
• Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 128,000. Job growth has averaged 167,000/month so far in 2019, compared with an average monthly gain of 223,000 in 2018.
• Food services and drinking places added 48,000 jobs.
• Professional and business services added 22,000 jobs.
• Social assistance added 20,000 jobs.
  
• Financial activities added 16,000 jobs.
• Federal government lost 11,000 jobs.
• Manufacturing lost 36,000 jobs.
• Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 6 cents to $28.18. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.0%.
• U.S. job openings dropped to a rate of 4.4% in August, from 4.5% in July.
• Dow Jones rose by 0.3% during the month of October.
• Housing starts fell by 9.4% to 1.26 million in September.
• Consumer price index did not change in September.
• Federal prime rate decreased by 0.25% to 4.75% in October, following a 0.25% decrease in September.
• Retail inventories decreased by 0.1% in August to $665.6 billion.
• Manufacturing hours worked per week decreased by 0.2 hours to 40.3 hours.