The January 2024 Jobs Report & December 2023 JOLTS: The Current U.S. Employment Situation

The BLS’s January 2024 jobs report showed a 353,000 increase in total nonfarm payroll employment and an unemployment rate of 3.7% for the third month in a row. Both of these metrics outperformed Dow Jones estimates of 185,000 and 3.8%. The number of unemployed people also decreased slightly to 6.1 million.

The latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary (JOLTS), released Tuesday, reported 9.0 million job openings on the last business day of December 2023 – slightly higher compared to November 2023 and an unexpected increase. Hires and total separations also changed little at 5.6 million and 5.4 million, respectively; however, the total number of quits decreased to 3.4 million, which is the lowest amount recorded since January 2021.

Here are a few more highlights from January 2024 U.S. job numbers:

• December’s job gains were revised up by 117,000 to 333,000.
• Average hourly earnings increased 0.6% while average hours worked decreased to 34.1.
• Over the past year, average hourly earnings have increased by 4.5%.

In terms of industries hiring now, health care and social assistance, professional and business services, and retail trade saw significant spikes in job growth. Furthermore, none of the industries we track month-over-month reported job decreases in January.

2024 is off to a roaring start with a labor market that’s crushing expectations and not showing signs of slowing down. Whether you’re hiring for open positions or looking to make a career move, iHire can help you get in on the action.