According to the latest BLS jobs report, the US economy added 223,000 jobs in December, bringing the unemployment rate down from 3.6% to 3.5%. This marks the second-best year for job creation on record, with a total of 4.5 million jobs added in 2022, falling second only to 2021.
Wages which had risen 7.3% for the last 12 months, cooled in December with average hourly earnings increasing by 0.3%, down from 0.4% the previous month.
Thursday's JOLTS report, which measures job openings and labor turnover, showed a quits rate of 2.7% in November, remaining relatively steady but still high above the average of 2% over the last 20 years. This is supported by the ADP National Employment Report, which showed a stronger-than-expected gain of 235,000 jobs in December.
Despite widely publicized layoffs in the tech sector, the job market for information technology-specific jobs remained strong with open job numbers up slightly in the professional and technical services sector. In fact, the demand for skilled IT workers continues to outpace the supply, and many companies are willing to pay premium salaries in order to attract and retain the best candidates. Eric Peters, BGSF Professional Division President, said, "We have seen compensation continue to rise in many areas of IT consulting including ERP implementation, Cloud Migration, and Cybersecurity. Most of the organizations we serve not only continue to support IT initiatives and projects from 2022 into 2023 but have increased budgets this year on those initiatives. We feel that will drive higher demand for resources which will further increase compensation in 2023."
The rental and leasing industry is another area of growth, with the number of job openings continuing to rise and adding more than 13,000 in December. The growing multifamily housing and apartment market continues to expand and grow, driving job growth in this sector. "We are thrilled to see the continued job growth in the markets that we serve. Our Multifamily team is focused on our 2023 upskilling initiative in partnership with Interplay Learning to increase the volume of skilled talent available to our clients as opportunities arise," said Kelly Brown, Real Estate Division President at BGSF, "This initiative will increase the pay potential of the participants in the program, as well as drive more skilled talent into the Multifamily Housing industry."
At BGSF, we specialize in consulting, managed services, and workforce solutions to a variety of industries through its various divisions in IT, Cyber, Finance & Accounting, and Real Estate (apartment communities and commercial buildings). Together we create a fit for the workforce sectors we specialize in, and with that, comes the progress which makes our team stronger, and opens our doors to exceptional talent, and positive change for communities. Search our Open Jobs or Request Talent today.
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