Government Shutdown and Winter Weather Play Havoc with Job Growth US companies continue to hire new employees, as 311,000 new jobs were added during January 2019; however, February was disappointing with just 20,000 new jobs, although some economists attribute this to winter weather and other temporary factors. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a 3.8% unemployment rate for February, which may indicate the government shutdown caused January’s 4.0% rate. Average hourly earnings increased the most since April 2009. The leisure/hospitality sector had the largest gain during January, or 74,000, while the construction industry, which has had difficulty finding enough qualified workers, increased employment by 52,000. Healthcare was third with an increase of 42,000.

Many Jobs Are Available and Companies Are Hiring for 2019 ManpowerGroup’s Q1 2019 Employment Outlook Survey reflects optimism from employers, as the +20% national Net Employment Outlook was the highest during the past 12 years, exceeding Q4 2018’s 19% and Q3 2018’s 18%. Regionally, the South achieved the highest Net Employment Outlook, or +21%. The West was unchanged from Q4 2018, with a Net Employment Outlook of +18%, while the Northeast and Midwest were +17%. The Northeast had the larger increase, however. Of a total of 383 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), 100 had a positive Q1 2019 Net Employment Outlook, with 4 Florida MSAs having the highest: Deltona, 37%; Cape Coral, 32%; Tampa, 31%; and Jacksonville (tie with Raleigh, NC), 29%.

Small Businesses Are Cautious, But Need Qualified Workers According to the Paychex/IHS Market Small Business Employment Watch, the February 2019 National Jobs Index was 98.93, unchanged from January. (The highest index since 2005 was 101.26 for April 2014). The January 2019 Small Business Economic Trends from the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) reported 18% of survey SMB owners said they plan to increase employment, which is 5 percentage points less than the December 2018 report. The lower hiring expectation among SMBs is mirrored in an index of 49 for “qualified applicants for job openings,” decreasing 5 points from December 2018, and a “job openings” index of 35, 4 points less than December.

Retail’s Typical Employment Re-adjustment After the Holidays In January 2019 jobs data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the retail trade sector had the fourth largest increase, or 21,000 workers, with sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores the sub-category with the largest gain, or +17,000. BLS also reported 15,835,700 total employees in the retail trade sector (NAICS 44-45) and a 5.3% unemployment rate, which is traditional higher in January, following the reduction in temporary holiday season jobs. The average hourly earnings for all retail trade employees was $19.32 during January 2019, working an average of 30.5 hours/week, for production and nonsupervisory employees, $16.31, working an average of 29.9 hours/week.

Staffing Agencies Busy Filling Temp Positions According to Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA), total 2018 industry revenues were expected to increase 4% to $148.3 billion, with temporary staffing contributing $128.1 billion and direct hire/retained search, $20.2 billion. SIA also predicted total 2019 industry revenues of $153.2 billion, a 3.3% increase, with temporary staffing, $132.1 billion, and direct hire/retained search, $21.1 billion. American Staffing Association’s Staffing Monthly Index for the week of January 7–13 was 94, which hadn’t been that high for this week since January 2008 while the index for the week of February 11–17 was 93.

The Transformation of Work According to Spherion Staffing’s 2018 Emerging Workforce® Study (February-March 2018), what is now known as contingent workers, or freelancers and contractor workers, accounted for almost 34% of US businesses’ total employment during 2018. A similar study from Edison Research (based on February 2018 interviews) reports 24% “of Americans 18+ earn income by working in the gig economy,” and their work is their primary source of income for 44% of them. Unsurprisingly, gig workers are anxious about the tenuous nature of their work, with 50% whose primary source of income is gig work “frequently anxious” about their financial situation and 60% fear being unable to make a car payment.

Advertising Strategies TV is the perfect advertising medium, with support from direct mail, for temp staffing agencies to reach adults 55+, as 70% of them rely on contingent, or freelance, work as a secondary source of income, the largest percentage of all age groups. With the employment market so competitive, local businesses should emphasize not only their benefits package, but also use the emotional connection of TV to share the positive attributes of their company culture, which is very important to younger job seekers. Based on the second hiring trend cited on page 4 of the Profiler, businesses and staffing agencies may want to downplay the importance of a college degree and, instead, attract candidates based on other qualifications.

New Media Strategies Local businesses can use social media as a major channel to share and emphasize their company culture. Post photos/videos of company events and even “everyday” activities on the job to reveal the benefits of the company’s culture for employees. Because “stories” are a strong content type on social media, staffing agencies can ask a few of their temp workers to tell their stories in short videos for posting on Facebook and Instagram, specifically, and agencies’ Websites. Use social media to promote an open house or mini-career day. Organize the attendees into groups of three or four and rotate them between tables, each hosted by a company employee to discuss attendees’ job skills and career goals. Post videos of the event.