Unemployment in the United States is near an all-time low, at least as measured by the jobless rate. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that in February, the unemployment rate was 3.8%, as the economy added 678,000 people. The jobless rate was uneven. The unemployment rate among white Americans was 3.3%. Among Hispanics, it was 4.4%. Among Black workers, the figure was 6.6%. Among Asian Americans, the number was 3.1%, and among teenagers 10.3%.
The authors of the report added: “Job growth was widespread, led by gains in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, health care, and construction.”
Among the firms that measure jobs added and subtracted each month is Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Its data show that there were 15,245 cuts in February, down from 19,064 in January. The cuts were the lowest since June 1997. Andrew Challenger, senior vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, commented: “The latest numbers give more evidence that job creation is strong, and employers continue to hold fast to their workforces. The churn in the labor market is coming from resignations.”
Job additions reached 215,127, based on “hiring plans,” the highest monthly total since September 2021.
Over the course of the first two months of 2022, several industries had significant layoffs. The health care sector, which encompasses hospitals, health care products manufacturers and other care-related entities, had 8,928 cuts. This was followed by government jobs at 3,683 and warehousing at 3,460. Other industries with relatively high numbers were entertainment and leisure at 2,723 and services at 2,573.
Four industries had no layoffs in the first two months of the year. These were the legal, mining, fintech and chemical industries. Fintech is among the new hot industries. The goal of its creators is to replace traditional banking and financial services. New companies in this sector have raised billions of dollars from venture capital firms. Overall, the technology industry had only 187 layoffs in the first two months of the year.
These 20 industries had the highest number of layoffs in the first two months of 2022:
- Health Care/Products (8,928)
- Government (3,683)
- Warehousing (3,460)
- Entertainment/Leisure (2,723)
- Services (2,573)
- Consumer Products (1,722)
- Food (1,313)
- Financial (1,148)
- Education (1,096)
- Insurance (870)
- Non-Profit (769)
- Retail (761)
- Real Estate (737)
- Industrial Goods (734)
- Transportation (572)
- Utility (530)
- Aerospace/Defense (467)
- Apparel (461)
- Pharmaceutical (407)
- Construction (304)
Click here to see the 25 highest-paying jobs in America.
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