January is the start of a new year and new beginnings for both job seekers and employers. Staff Solve strives to assist employers and job seekers with information and process hiring, but the overall economic picture of employment trends in the United States and possible factors involved.

Both the unemployment rate, at 4.0%, and the number of unemployed persons, at 6.5 million, changed little in January. Over the year, the unemployment rate is down by 2.4%. The number of job leavers increased to 952,000 in January, following a decrease in the prior month. The number of persons on temporary layoff, at 959,000 in January, also increased over the month but is down by 1.8 million over the year. The number of permanent job losers, at 1.6 million, changed little in January but is down by 1.9 million when compared to the previous year. In January, the number of persons jobless less than 5 weeks increased to 2.4 million and accounted for 37.0% of the total unemployed. The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) declined to 1.7 million. Those filing for long-term unemployment accounted for 25.9% of the total unemployment in January. 

After accounting for the annual adjustments to the population controls, the labor force participation rate held at 62.2% in January, and the employment-population ratio was little changed at 59.7%. The number of persons employed part-time for economic reasons, at 3.7 million, continued to trend down over the month. These individuals, who would have preferred full-time employment, were working part-time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs. The number of persons not in the labor force who currently want a job was little changed at 5.7 million in January. These individuals were not counted as unemployed because they were not actively looking for work during the 4 weeks preceding the survey or were unavailable to take a job.

Among those not in the labor force who wanted a job, the number of persons marginally attached to the labor force, at 1.5 million, changed little in January. These individuals wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months but had not looked for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. The number of discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were available for them, was also little changed over the month, at 408,000.

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 467,000 for the month of January, with employment growth continued in leisure and hospitality, in professional and business services, in retail trade, and in transportation and warehousing. Employment in leisure and hospitality increased by 151,000 in January, reflecting job gains in food services and drinking places (+108,000) and in the accommodation industry (+23,000). Professional and business services added 86,000 jobs, with gains occurring in management and technical consulting services (+16,000), computer systems design and related services (+15,000), architectural and engineering services (+8,000), and other professional and technical services (+7,000). Temporary help services continued to trend up (+26,000) as well as retail trade (+61,000). Job growth occurred in general merchandise stores (+29,000); health and personal care stores (+11,000); sporting goods, hobby, book, and music stores (+7,000); and building material and garden supply stores (+6,000). 

Employment in transportation and warehousing increased by 54,000 for the month, with gains noted in couriers and messengers (+21,000), warehousing and storage (+13,000), truck transportation (+8,000), and air transportation (+7,000). All four of these component industries have surpassed their February 2020 employment levels, with particularly strong growth in warehousing and storage (+410,000) and couriers and messengers (+236,000). Local government education rose by 29,000, health care by 18,000, and wholesale trade added 16,000 jobs with gains in both durable goods (+11,000) and nondurable goods (+8,000).

Little change was noticed in January for mining, construction, manufacturing, information, financial activities, and other services.   In January, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 23 cents to $31.63. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 5.7%. In January, the average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees rose by 17 cents to $26.92. 

Revisions to previous employment reports were also made due to additional data received from individuals and businesses, specifically with the seasonal periods that can create an influx in growth or depression of opportunities available. See the table below for all revisions made.

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