The July 2024 Jobs Report & June 2024 JOLTS: The Current U.S. Employment Situation

The July 2024 U.S. job numbers from the BLS are out: Unemployment rose to 4.3%, the highest it’s been since 2021, and nonfarm payroll employment increased by 114,000, a significant slowdown compared to the rest of the year so far. The number of unemployed people grew to 7.2 million.

The June Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary (JOLTS), released Tuesday, showed the number of job openings unchanged at 8.2 million (May’s number was revised up by 90,000 to 8.2 million). Over the month of June, there were 5.3 million hires and 5.1 million separations; within separations, both quits as well as layoffs and discharges changed little. The quits rate held steady at 2.1% and the hires rate decreased 0.2 percentage points to 3.4%.

Here are additional takeaways on the U.S. employment situation:

• Per the JOLTS, job openings increased significantly in accommodation and food services (120,000) and state and local government, excluding education (94,000); job openings fell by 88,000 and 62,000 in durable goods manufacturing and federal government, respectively.
• Unemployment rates for adult men and Whites increased in July to 4.0% and 3.8%, respectively, while other major worker groups showed little or no change.
• The labor force participation rate increased slightly to 62.7%, partly due to immigration adding ~50,000 workers per month to the labor supply.
• Increases in average hourly earnings also slowed, growing by only $0.08 to $35.07.

Top industries hiring now include healthcare and social assistance, construction, leisure and hospitality, government, and transportation and warehousing. Information lost 20,000 jobs.

Despite the U.S. jobs data painting a picture of a challenging market, you can still reach your recruiting and job search goals with the right strategy and tools. Explore iHire’s solutions today to find your next great hire or next great job.