The
Labor Market Insights report provides a monthly overview of key labor market statistics.
As the changing workforce and economic conditions continue to be top of mind for workers compensation executives, this valuable resource delivers timely perspectives on what the latest jobs reports mean for the industry. The
data and insights shared in this monthly publication are designed to provide just-in-time information to help industry leaders make informed decisions.
Key Insights:
- The economy added a lower-than-expected 73,000 jobs in July; however, the main story centered on significant downward revisions to job growth in both May and June.
May saw employment gains revised from 144,000 to just 19,000, while June saw a change from 147,000 to just 14,000. The revisions resulted in a two-month net loss of 258,000 jobs and brought the three-month average of employment growth to just 35,000 jobs.
Over the past three months, job growth in education and health services averaged 67,000 while all other industry groups averaged a loss of 32,000 jobs.
Revisions of this magnitude are rare in the monthly data. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) did not cite any special factors as a reason for the revision beyond the normal increase in data reported in subsequent months after the first release. - A positive note from the report was the tick up in wage growth and hours worked. Despite the slowdown in employment growth, payroll growth was back above 5% in July.
We continue to watch wages closely as a potential indicator of the durability of this trend as the labor market slows.
Big Picture: The revised data for the past three months is showing signs that the labor market appears materially weaker than previous data suggested. Against the backdrop of economic and policy uncertainty, it is difficult to predict how hiring may be impacted over the next few months.
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Labor Market Insights report.
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