The January 2023 Jobs Report & December 2022 JOLTS: The Current U.S. Employment Situation

Nonfarm payrolls added a surprising 517,000 jobs in January, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s January 2023 jobs report, despite fears of a recession and layoffs in the tech industry making headlines throughout the month. That number is almost triple what economists expected for U.S. jobs data. The unemployment rate also fell to 3.4%, the lowest it’s been since 1969. Finally, the number of unemployed persons remained roughly the same as December at 5.7 million people.

The December 2022 Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary (JOLTS) released Wednesday showed that the labor market remains tight – the number of job openings reached 11 million at the end of the month. That, along with historically low unemployment, suggests the U.S. employment situation may be close to reaching capacity, according to economists.

Meanwhile, the total number of separations remained at 5.9 million, with voluntary quits accounting for 4.1 million of those separations and layoffs accounting for 1.5 million.

Other noteworthy statistics from the reports:

• While the unemployment rate fell and job openings rose, there is some good news for employers struggling to hire: the share of adults working or looking for a job rose to 62.4%, the highest since March last year.
• Wages grew by about 10 cents, or 0.3%, to $33.03 in January, which was close to predictions.
• The jobs added in November was revised up by 34,000 to 290,000, and the number for December was revised up by 37,000 to 260,000.

So, what industries are hiring now and driving the surprising growth? Among the top industries hiring in January were leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, and healthcare. Mining, information, financial activities, and other services saw no growth last month.

January’s numbers show the job market isn’t slowing down. Whether you’re a job seeker or employer, iHire’s platform is built to help you succeed.