Employment rises as 1.8 million jobs added in July, unemployment rate falling to 10.2 percent.
In July, the unemployment rate decreased .9 percent, from 11.1 percent to 10.2 percent. These improvements in the labor market reflected the continued resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and efforts to contain it. In July, notable job gains occurred in leisure and hospitality, government, retail trade, professional and business services, other services, and healthcare.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR STAFFING?
Despite increases in employment over the past 3 months, the increase in the unemployment rate is still up by 6.7 percentage points and 10.6 million jobs since February. The number of unemployed persons who were on temporary layoff decreased by 1.3 million in July to 9.2 million, about half its April level. Even without significant decrease in net new positive COVID-19 cases across the U.S., we are starting to see more re-entrants to the job market. These professionals who were either laid off or furloughed, are beginning to go back to work, meaning less available candidates who are unemployed. For employers looking to ramp back up in Q4, now may be the time to consider hiring, while the talent pool is still somewhat abundant.