Job Numbers to Ponder

Small businesses are now leading the way, hiring 115,000 workers. Medium-sized businesses added 79,000 jobs, while large firms cut 2,000 positions. Most jobs were created in the service sector, which added 177,000 positions. The goods producing sector added 15,000. Bright spots included construction, trade, and professional services. The manufacturing sector lost 3,000 jobs. Economists say the economy needs to create at least 150,000 jobs a month just to keep pace with population growth. Last week, the number of people filing for unemployment claims fell for the second week in a row, and is now hovering near a five-year low.

The positive numbers are consistent. Total employment is expected to increase by 20.5 million jobs from 2010 to 2020, with 88 percent of detailed occupations projected to experience employment growth. Industries and occupations related to health care, personal care and social assistance, and construction are projected to have the fastest job growth between 2010 and 2020. Jobs requiring a master’s degree are expected to grow the fastest.  Unfortunately, those requiring a high school diploma will experience the slowest growth over the 2010–20 timeframe.

Job openings result from the relationship that exists among the population, the labor force, and the demand for goods and services. Industries respond by hiring the workers necessary to produce goods and provide services. However, improvements in technology and productivity, changes in which occupations perform certain tasks, and changes in the supply of workers all affect which occupations will be employed by those industries.

The U.S. workforce is projected to become more diverse by 2020. Among racial groups, Whites are expected to make up a decreasing share of the labor force while Blacks, Asians, and all other groups will increase their share. Among ethnic groups, persons of Hispanic origin are projected to increase their share of the labor force from 14.8 percent to 18.6 percent. The number of women in the labor force will grow at a slightly faster rate than the number of men. The male labor force is projected to grow by 6.3 percent from 2010 to 2020, compared with 7.4 percent for the female labor force. The share of the youth labor force, workers ages 16 to 24, is expected to decrease from 13.6 percent in 2010 to 11.2 percent in 2020. The primary working-age group, those between 25 and 54 years old, is projected to decline from 66.9 percent of the labor force in 2010 to 63.7 percent in 2020. The share of workers ages 55 years and older, by contrast, are anticipated to leap from 19.5 percent to 25.2 percent of the labor force during the same period.

Source: “Sections:.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Web. 31 Jan. 2013.

Hargreaves, Steve. “ADP: Private Sector Adds 192,000 Jobs.” CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 30 Jan. 2013. Web. 31 Jan. 2013.

 

 

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