Key Highlights from the July BLS Jobs Report
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released updated employment data for the month of July, showing the economic recovery following the nationwide shutdowns related to COVID-19 is slowly continuing. During the month of July, the BLS reported 1.8 additional jobs were added back to the economy. Since the start of the COVID-19 downturn, the U.S. economy remains down 12.8 million jobs since experiencing record-low unemployment in February 2020.
While July activity was 3 million jobs short of the 4.8 million roles added in June, it was still better than economists were forecasting, due to COVID-19 shutdowns resulting from outbreaks across the southeast, midwest and western states. Although cases remain high, promising signs of recovery continue with both full-time and part-time employment numbers.
In July, part time employees rose by 803,000 to 24 million, while full time workers remained relatively flat at 119.5 million, showing some stability for salaried employees and growth from part-time roles needed by businesses. The results of the forecasting have the unemployment number at 10.2% – slightly higher than the Great Recession of 2008 – 2009. While millions of workers remain furloughed or unemployed, the overall economic numbers are moving in a favorable direction, leaving businesses and job seekers cautiously optimistic.
Unemployment Benefits Renewed
After a deadlocked congress failed to reach a deal on recovery packages for workers across the U.S., President Trump used an executive order to instate a new round of recovery benefits. Workers claiming unemployment benefits will receive an additional $400 per month, down from the original $600 from the initial recovery package. Additionally, $100 of that fund is required to come from state budgets. At this time, there isn’t a clear list of the states that can or will participate under these terms.
What You Can Do As A Business Leader
Everyone is watching the ongoing COVID-19 situation carefully as it continues to have a lasting impact on business operations across all economic segments. While the numbers show a promising trend towards increased labor participation, there is still significant headway to make, to both decrease the thread of the ongoing pandemic as well as to make customers and employees feel safe to return to normal business operations. For businesses looking to carefully open up for the first time since spring, or ramp up hiring, there are a few tactics that can set up teams for success.
Helping Businesses Connect with Talent
If you’re looking to re-open or increase operations, you may need to find new talent to bring into your organization. Connect with even more applicants using new candidate networks like Facebook to reach job seekers – even if they are not actively browsing traditional job boards.
We recently highlighted how Hireology now supports Jobs on Facebook to help our customers share open roles through their company’s Facebook Business page automatically. To learn more about reaching job seekers on Facebook, take a look at our recent product post.
Putting a Process in Place to Make the Right Hire
With millions of job seekers still needing work, your team may be quickly overwhelmed at applicant activity as soon as you look to open or expand your team. While every hiring manager wants to drive activity, connecting with the right candidates is essential to selecting the right person to hire.
Today’s hiring climate requires a dedicated process to ensuring you can attract the right applicants, connect with the best candidates and hire amazing team members. See how to make this connection with your applicants – and team members you may be bringing back – in our free eBook, Staying Connected in Uncertain Times.
We’re Here to Help
If your current process (or lack thereof) is leaving you overwhelmed with the pressures of today’s economic challenges, we’d love to see how Hireology can help. Talk to a member of our team who has extensive experience helping our customers navigate the path through the COVID-19 downturn by scheduling a demo today.
