The job market seems to be looking up, with hiring momentum seeing an unexpected increase over this past year. Since last month, 280,000 new jobs have opened up and hourly pay has increased by .3%. This comes as a surprise to economists, who had previously predicted that recession would continue to cause a downturn in job openings. This past year saw the greatest increase in hourly wages since 2008, up 2.3% since last April.
The industry which saw the biggest increase was the hospitality sector, which added 57,000 new jobs this month. Most of these new job openings are for seasonal and temporary work for the summer season. The second biggest contributor is the retail industry, adding a total of 31,400 jobs across auto dealerships, clothing, furniture, and electronics retailers. The fact that the two leaders in the job market are hospitality and retail reflects that consumers are beginning to spend more money on luxury products and services. In addition to these two industries, construction, health care, temp jobs, and educational services are close runner ups, but business has been holding its own as well, according to Melissa Korn at the Wall Street Journal.
And don’t just take our word for the recent upswing. Read more about how temp agencies and job-seekers work together in this article written by John Zapp, which focuses on May’s hiring momentum. According to Zapp’s research, May had the biggest employment gain since December. This new numbers suggest that the less robust months were more likely influenced by the difficult weather conditions that shrouded the U.S. this winter and not a weakening economy.
Many of the leading industries staff their open positions through temporary staffing agencies, especially those of a temporary nature. Both businesses and individuals use temp agencies to connect with new opportunities quickly. If you are an employer looking for quality staffing or are an individual looking for open positions, contact QualStaff Resources today.
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