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Restaurant hiring affected by warmer weather, lingering pandemic habits

Mar 8, 2024
The number of people employed at restaurants and bars went up 0.3% in February from the month before.
A slowdown in construction work has meant an influx of job applicants for back-of-house positions, says restaurant owner Joshua Pollack.
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For both employers and applicants, the job market is a tough gig

For applicants, the interviewing can seem endless. For employers, the pool of workers is small and the future may feel uncertain.
Many employers and job seekers feel a bit powerless in the current environment.
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Economists expect tapering job growth for December

Jan 4, 2024
November job openings also trended down but were still above pre-pandemic levels.
Job openings continued to trend down in November, just as they’ve been doing for over a year.
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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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Holiday season hiring slows down

Dec 8, 2023
Retail hiring for the holiday shopping period is roughly flat, while transportation and warehousing are down from last year.
Well 80 Brewhouse in Olympia, Washington. Owner Chris Knudson says business is down slightly from last year and it's not as hard to find workers to cover shifts when the restaurant's busy.
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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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Do the latest job numbers point to a coming recession?

Nov 6, 2023
The number of new jobs created each month has been trending down for the past year — but there is also a good amount of positive data in the latest report.
Overall, the number of new jobs created each month has been chaotic but generally trending down for 12 months.
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Wage growth cools in October

Nov 3, 2023
Average hourly earnings rose 4.1% year-over-year in October; the rate peaked near 6% in March 2022. The slowdown in wage growth is helping the Fed wrestle inflation lower.
The rate of average hourly earnings growth slowed in October, which is exactly what the Fed hopes might further cool inflation.
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The job market might finally be returning to "normal," economists say

Oct 5, 2023
Experts are predicting a slight decrease in wage growth, a drop that get us closer to pre-pandemic rates.
New September job market data comes out Friday, and economists expect we'll see a little less payroll growth than in August.
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Temp jobs falling usually signals a recession. Maybe not this time.

Oct 5, 2023
It's probably more a sign of pandemic labor market weirdness than a coming recession.
Following an explosion of temp jobs during the pandemic, many positions were made permanent as companies scrambled to recruit and retain workers. Above, participants at a San Francisco job fair.
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