Employment Update

July 2022

The American employment landscape is constantly changing. Keep up-to-date with the most recent trends with our monthly Employment Update. All figures are provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the America Staffing Association.

  • Unemployment rate down 0.1% - 3.5%

    In July, the unemployment rate edged down to 3.5 percent, and the number of unemployed persons edged down to 5.7 million. These measures have returned to their levels in February 2020, prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

  • Long-term unemployed — decreased— 1.1 Million

    The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) decreased by 269,000 in July to 1.1 million. This measure has returned to its February 2020 level. The long-term unemployed accounted for 18.9 percent of the total unemployed in July.

  • Labor force participation down by 0.1% - 62.1%

    Both the labor force participation rate, at 62.1 percent, and the employment population ratio, at 60.0 percent, were little changed over the month. Both
    measures remain below their February 2020 values (63.4 percent and 61.2 percent, respectively).

  • Average hourly earnings rose $0.15 - $32.27

    In July, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 15 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $32.27. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 5.2 percent. In July, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees rose by 11 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $27.57.

  • Number of permanent job losers trend down - 1.2M

    Among the unemployed, the number of permanent job losers, at 1.2 million in July, continued to trend down over the month and is 129,000 lower than in February 2020. The number of persons on temporary layoff, at 791,000 in July, changed little from the prior month and has essentially returned to its pre-pandemic level.

  • GDP projected to increase - 1.5%

    Economists surveyed in July projected GDP in 3Q 2022 will increase 1.5%. The Wall Street Journal conducts an Economic Forecasting Survey among a group of nearly 80 economists on more than 10 major economic indicators on a quarterly basis, including GDP.

  • Temp penetration rate at 2.07%

    Temporary help employment was 2.07 percent of total nonfarm employment in July, which is the same as last month.

  • Temp help jobs increased 10.2%

    Temporary help jobs in July increased 10.2 percent, seasonally adjusted, from the same month last year.

  • Nonfarm payroll employment up by 528,000

    Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 528,000 in July, larger than the average monthly gain over the prior 4 months (+388,000). Total nonfarm employment has increased by 22.0 million since reaching a low in April 2020 and has returned to its pre-pandemic level.

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Industry Trends

Acara summarizes the latest industry trends each month to keep you informed as you make decisions about the future of your business.

  • 87% of workers take the opportunity to work flexibly.

    Almost everyone works from home if they can. When offered, 87 percent of workers take the opportunity to work flexibly at least one day a week.

  • 58% of employees have the option to work from home for all or part of the week.

    58 percent of employed workers—or 92 million people from a cross section of jobs and employment types— report having the option to work from home for all or part of the week. 35 percent can work from home fulltime, and 23 percent can work from home part-time.

  • 9.4% of job postings on Indeed are remote.

    Employers are far more likely to offer remote work now than before the pandemic, with 9.4 percent of postings on Indeed advertised as remote in May 2022 compared with 2.7 percent in 2019, a 6.7 percentage point increase.

    While every sector is more likely to advertise these options, the span is large, ranging from 0.5 percent in beauty and wellness to 38.6 percent in software development in May 2022.

  • 61% of workers say their company is experiencing labor shortages.

  • 59% of workers feel there is value in riding out the labor shortage at their current company.

  • 61% of workers have thought about faking a job offer in order to get a counteroffer from their current employer.

  • 73% of workers feel their company does not understand the frustration that comes with working understaffed.

    Those frustrations include:
    • 66 percent feel they are experiencing burnout
    • 55 percent feel like they are being spread too thin
    • 49 percent are experiencing anxiety
    • 38 percent are working extra hours without appropriate compensation
    • 34 percent are experiencing physical symptoms such as headaches and body aches

  • 43% of talent teams feel under-resourced for their hiring needs.

    Around the globe, there has been a 43 percent increase in teams who feel under-resourced compared to last year. As a result, in just the last year, they have
    turned to technology to help reallocate the resources that they do have to successfully meet their talent demands.

  • 57% introduced job-matching technologies for recruiting.

  • 37% moved to a combination of both in-person and virtual interviews.

  • 24% implemented technologies such as AI, chatbots, and skills assessments.

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