Small businesses have Now Hiring signs up — whether they need workers or not

Apr 2, 2024
So government stats on job openings may not be telling us much.
Frankesha Watkins, who owns a beauty supply store, said she always keeps a job listing posted because high turnover among her staff creates frequent openings.
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Job security and hiring in tech have plummeted. How much is AI to blame?

Apr 1, 2024
Tech companies may have over hired in the pandemic. Now, AI and other economic forces are creating a shrink in the tech sector.
While the IT sector added more than 260,000 jobs in 2022, last year it grew by a mere 700 jobs, and that number is expected to shrink even more in 2024.
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Recent immigrants have filled labor gaps, boosted job creation, experts say

Mar 15, 2024
There has been a wave of migration to the U.S. — legal and not — since 2022. Many who entered are finding and keeping jobs.
In 2022 and 2023, 5.9 million people migrated to the U.S., according to the Congressional Budget Office.
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New H1-B visa rules give workers more autonomy

Mar 8, 2024
It’s H-1B season, which means U.S. companies are once again competing for a limited number of spots— 85,000 — in a visa lottery. Registration opened this week after the federal government revamped the application process.
Workers with H1-B visas "have a lot more more negotiating power," said immigration attorney Ummehani Ismail.
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Business economists expect a soft landing in 2024

Feb 26, 2024
The National Association for Business Economics' latest forecast predicts higher economic growth and lower unemployment.
“Over the past quarters, the prospects for a recession seem to get smaller, prospects for a soft landing larger," said Mervin Jebaraj at the University of Arkansas.
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The survey found over a quarter of trans people in the U.S. couldn't afford to visit the doctor when they needed to. Lack of health care access has economic effects, says Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen.
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It's been a bumpy ride for the office jobs that support office jobs

Jan 29, 2024
Jobs in this kind of work — the work that makes offices and buildings run, makes them nice — grew about 2.6% last year. It's growth but it's not huge growth.
The slow and uneven return to office leaves the future of office ecosystems up in the air.
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For public good, not for profit.

Temp jobs have been disappearing. That's actually good news for workers and companies.

Jan 2, 2024
Workers prefer the stability of permanent jobs, and permanent workers tend to be more productive.
The temporary employment sector has weakened as demand softened and many temps became permanent.
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More part-time workers are finding full-time gigs

Dec 8, 2023
In November, the number of people who want to have full-time work but haven't found it due to economic reasons declined by about 300,000.
Retail is one sector where previously part-time workers are finding full-time work.
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New unemployment claims creep up as hiring slows

Nov 16, 2023
Six months of incremental softening of the job market has firmed up to something tangible: the number of people continuing to file for unemployment was the highest it’s been in almost two years.
Slowed hiring could be an indicator that the jobs market is mellowing out after wild swings during the first few years of the pandemic.
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