November 2014 Employment and Economic Trends

Marcianne Kuethen

November 24, 2014

As a member of the American Staffing Association, we receive current information from ASA on employment trends across the United States. Here are a few pertinent November employment and economic trends that add up to an improved economy in 2015, but with increased competition for knowledge workers:

More part-time workers: Almost seven million Americans continue to work part-time jobs they don’t want because they’re unable to find full-time employment. Economists are concerned that the higher level of part-time employment will become a permanent legacy of the Great Recession, forcing workers to chose between underemployment or working multiple jobs, which will put a damper on income growth and discretionary spending.–Wall Street Journal (11/12/14) Nick Timiraos

Why part-time workers can’t find full-time work: A new CareerBuilder study reveals that 32 percent of part-time workers want to work full time, but haven’t been able to land a full-time job. When asked why they believe they have been unable to find full-time work, these part-time workers said: There aren’t as many jobs available in my field as there were pre-recession (54%); I don’t have the skills necessary for in-demand jobs (51%); I haven’t looked for full-time jobs on a regular basis (31%); and I don’t have the education needed (29%).–PRNewswire (11/13/14)

CFO survey shows widespread hiring is expected in 2015: 75.0% of 68 respondents to a survey by the MIT Sloan CFO Summit say that they expect staffing levels to grow in 2015. A year ago, 64% expected their staffing levels to grow. Another 23.5% expect staffing levels to remain steady. The respondents said locating the right talent is one of the biggest challenges they face right now.–Boston Business Journal (11/17/14) Jon Chesto

Increase in hiring new college grads: According to a survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, employers expect to hire 8.3% more new college grads from the class of 2015 for their U.S. operations than they did from the class of 2014. Responding employers were most interested in new college grads with bachelor’s degrees in business, engineering, and computer and information sciences fields.–National Association of Colleges and Employers (11/12/14)

Pay rising sharply for young, low-wage workers: The pay of young low- and middle-wage employees is now rising faster than that of older, higher-wage workers. Employees earning less than $20,000 saw their average hourly pay in the third quarter increase 5.4% compared with the same time last year, according to Automatic Data Processing. Employees earning between $20,000 and $50,000 saw a 4.9% increase in their earnings, while those earning more than $50,000 saw a 4.3% increase. The shift could boost economic growth since lower-paid workers tend to spend most of their paychecks, spreading the benefits throughout the economy.–USA Today (11/16/14) Paul Davidson

Just who is outside the labor force? More than 92 million Americans, or 37% of people age 16 and older, are considered outside the labor force, according to the Pew Research Center. This is due to several factors—Baby Boomers are retiring, laid-off workers have grown discouraged, and, perhaps most importantly, teens and young adults have been less interested in joining the workforce since before the recession. Just over 93% of all adults out of the labor force don’t want a job right now, and women are more likely than men to say they do not want a job, although the gap is narrowing.–Pew Research Center (11/14/14) Drew Desilver

We wish you all the best in your hiring and job search endeavors!