In light of recent comments from the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, the U.S. markets have been particularly unstable. Bernanke warned Congress that the public sector is hemorrhaging jobs; 39,000 government jobs were lost in the past year.
These numbers are a serious cause for concern, and it has many people wondering what the future might hold, particularly as the public sector generally adds jobs during times of economic recovery. The fact that the opposite is happening isn’t good news for Americans, especially those who have been hardest hit by the market.
However, the August jobs report did allay some fears regarding the economy and the future. Most significantly, it showed a significant increase in hiring, particularly in the temporary and contract work sector. Here is what these hiring numbers mean for the current state of the economy:
First, the numbers show that there is a solid increase in the number of job orders for temporary and contract work, especially IT and non-clinical healthcare occupations. In fact, employment in these occupations is increasing compared to other occupations. There is a 5 percent unemployment rate in the IT field and a 4 percent unemployment rate in the non-clinical healthcare field, and employment is continuing to increase in these targeted professions.
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On the one hand, the increase of temporary hires is a sign that employers aren’t quite ready to bring on the full-time workers they need. However, it’s a step in the right direction and the hope is that these employers will eventually bring on contract employees for full-time work. It’s a slow and steady process, but the economic outlook is positive.
To provide you perspective on how significant temporary job growth has been, all you need to review is the job growth number from 2007-2012. Temporary jobs have accounted for 15 percent of all job growth in the U.S., even though the industry only makes up 1.9 percent of the U.S. workforce. The temporary staffing industry has added the most total jobs since 2009.
While they may not be ready to bring on full-time employees, companies are shifting their hiring strategy to bring on more workers for the foreseeable future. This is a trend that will likely continue until the economy picks up more significantly and confidence levels are fully restored. Hence while Bernanke’s recent comments aren’t exactly what Americans wanted to hear, it is a good sign that the future holds better news for all of us.
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[…] In light of recent comments from the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, the U.S. markets have been particularly unstable. Bernanke warned Congress that the public sector is hemorrhaging jobs; 39,000 government jobs were lost in the past year. […]