The January 2020 Economic Report below was created just for you, employers. It is fueled with 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. Below the report, check out the Amtec Tip of the Month about conducting productive reference checks.

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Amtec Tip of the Month

Conducting productive reference checks is imperative to avoiding potential problems in the future. What a reference check informs you about a candidate’s previous behavior can help you decide whether this person is a good hire or not. Here are a few sample questions to ask your candidates’ previous employers so you can be more confident in your hiring decisions.

• How did you manage this person to get the best results from her?
• If you could give (the candidate) one gift that would help her further her career, what would that be?

Positive, open-ended questions such as these help reference checkers feel that you are on the candidate’s side and frees them to be truthful and open about their experience. Find more information about conducting productive reference checks here.

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Additional Information

If you’re unable to view the January 2020 Economic Report or would like additional information, read below:

• The unemployment rate rose from 3.5% in December to 3.6% in January. The number of unemployed persons was little changed at 5.9 million.

• Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 225,000. In 2019, payroll employment rose by 2.1 million, down from a gain of 2.7 million in 2018.

• Construction added 44,000 jobs.
  • An average of 12,000 jobs per month in 2019

• Health Care added 36,000 jobs.
  • 361,000 jobs added in the last 12 months

• Leisure and Hospitality added 36,000 jobs.
  • 288,000 jobs added in the last 6 months

• Transportation and Warehousing added 28,000 jobs.
  • 106,000 jobs added in the last 12 months

• Professional and Business Services added 21,000 jobs.
  • 390,000 jobs added in the last 12 months

• Manufacturing lost 12,000 jobs.
  • Has shown little movement in the last 12 months

• Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 7 cents to $28.44. Over the last 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.1%.

• U.S. job openings dropped 7.62% in November to 6,800,000 openings.

• Dow Jones dropped by 1.3% during the month of January.

• Housing starts rose by 17% to 1.6 million in December.

• Consumer price index rose to 0.2% in December.

• Federal prime rate remained at 4.75% in January.

• Retail inventories dropped by 0.8% in November to $662 billion.

• Manufacturing hours worked per week rose 1% to an average of 39.8 hours.

• Manufacturing new orders rose by 1.8% from $491 billion in November to $499 billion in December.

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