Hickey Jobs Report Update October 2022
Hickey Jobs Report Update – U.S. adds 261,000 jobs in October 2022
Ahead of a major midterm election, increasing inflation, rising interest rates, and an uncertain global economy, employers in the United States outpaced expectations by adding more than 261,000 jobs in October. With that hiring surge, the nation’s unemployment rate did increase back up to 3.7 percent, according to the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Jobs Report.
Health Care, Professional + Technical Services, Leisure + Hospitality, and Manufacturing led the industries in job gains for the previous month. Meanwhile, hourly earnings increased by twelve cents to $32.58, which brings the overall wage increase to 4.7 percent over the past year.
We’re tracking these latest updates, along with labor force participation rates, wage shifts, and inflationary concerns – here are the five things you need to know from the latest U.S. Jobs Report:
Despite challenges across nearly every key economic metric, American employers beat expectations by adding 261,000 new jobs in October. Even further beating predictions, the U.S. economy has now added more than 4 million jobs since the beginning of 2022.
Health Care led all industries in job gains, primarily in ambulatory services. With demand from the baby boomer generation increasing, the industry has averaged 41,000 new hires each month this year, more than 5x the counts seen in 2021.
Hourly earnings have slightly cooled compared to the torrid growth pace seen over the past year, but still rose by over 12 cents. Putting even more pressure on American households with rising inflation, the average hourly wage rate increase is now 4.7 percent over the past year.
Hiring in Professional + Technical Services increased payrolls by more than 43,000 jobs, at a time when employers are beginning to implement hybrid return to work policies. The impact on office demand created by this hiring surge may start to be realized in late 2022 and early 2023.
The nation’s unemployment rate went back above pre-pandemic levels as 306,000 were added to the jobless rate. This will be a key metric to track in the coming months as major employers like Amazon, Apple, and Twitter are reportedly evaluating hiring freezes and layoffs.
For more information and insights on the latest U.S. Jobs Report, check the latest update from our Hickey Location Analytics and Incentives Team: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Situation Summary website.
Report Summary
With challenges across the economy, American employers still outpaced expectations adding over 261,000 jobs in October, according to the latest U.S. Jobs Report. Since the outset of 2022, over 4 million new jobs have been added to the American workforce.
The federal labor agency also revised their previous projections with the calculation for year-to-date hires, setting employment estimates in August and September combined to be 29,000 jobs higher than previously reported.
Employment gains were seen across various industries, including Health Care, Professional + Technical Services, Leisure + Hospitality, and Manufacturing, among others.
Even with the gains, the overall count of unemployed Americans increased by 306,000 in October to a total of 6.1 million. This rise brings the national unemployment rate slightly back above pre-pandemic levels to 3.7 percent.
Participation of potential workers in the economy saw little change over the previous as the key rate is now 62.2 percent, which remains 1.2 percent below pre-pandemic levels.
U.S. hourly wages increased by twelve cents in October to $32.58, placing the overall wage increase over the past year at 4.7 percent. As the consumer price index was last reported at 8.2 percent, inflationary pressures will be an increasingly heightened challenge for most American families.
Key Industries
Leisure & Hospitality
The dynamic Leisure & Hospitality sector added another 35,000 jobs in October, which will likely increase further as the holiday season approaches. The accommodations sector added the most jobs over the previous month with 20,000 reported new hires. Despite the gains, the industry is still below pre-pandemic levels by 6.5 percent, or by 1.1 million jobs.
Professional & Business Services
Potentially increasing office demand as the nation navigates a path to returning to a physical environment, even if in a hybrid manner, the Professional + Technical Services industry added 43,000 jobs in October. Most significant job gains were in management and technical consulting services, architectural and engineering services, and scientific research and development services.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing built on a strong previous month by adding 32,000 jobs in October. Leading the way were the durable goods industries, which increased payrolls by 23,000 jobs. Hiring in Manufacturing is outpacing trends in 2021 by nearly 7,000 jobs monthly, a positive indicator the U.S. economy entering the final stretch of 2022.
Transportation & Warehousing
As hiring increased overall in the Transportation & Warehousing sector in October, the warehousing and storage sector saw a loss of 20,000 jobs. With seasonal demand picking up across the country, we will be watching this figure closely, particularly at the dynamic of temporary versus permanent jobs are added over the next three months.
Health Care
The Health Care industry added the most jobs in October with 53,000 new jobs in October. Getting above total pre-pandemic employment levels, ambulatory health care services was once again the leader with 31,000 new jobs over the previous month.
Other Notable Industries
In other notable industries, employment in Social Assistance increased by 19,000, and Wholesale Trade added 15,000 in October. There was little change in employment in Mining, Construction, Retail Trade, Information, and Government
For more information on the latest Jobs Report, including additional details on the data concepts and statistical methodologies utilized, visit the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Situation Summary website.
If you are interested in learning more about the jobs reports, along with how we support our clients with dynamic labor analytics, we would be excited to connect one of our location strategy experts: