Jobless claims decline – Good news for the economy and staffing and recruiting professionals

There’s good employment news coming out of Washington – jobless claims are on the decline. For staffing and recruiting professionals, the knowledge that the hiring market is recovering will lead to the creation of more job orders. More clients are looking to fill jobs, more workers are looking for new career opportunities – an improving hiring market benefits everyone.

The labor market is improving
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, jobless claims dropped by 24,000 to 334,000 in the week ending July 13, 2013. Bloomberg reported that this is the fewest jobless claims reported since early May this year at 358,000.

“The labor markets are healing, and as companies see further demand for their goods and services, there is certainly less risk for job loss,” said Russell Price, a senior economist at Ameriprise Financial Inc. in Detroit, who projected a drop to 335,000, according to Bloomberg. Claims are “certainly indicative of an improving job market, but not a particularly robust one.”

There is a definite change of pace from where the economy was about a year ago, when reports were consistently showing a decrease in hiring across the nation. Experts are predicting that larger payrolls and greater job gains are increasing income growth and pushing forward household spending, which is turning around to further sustain the economy and encourage hiring.

“Jobless claims were a little bit better than expected which gives some comfort,” Richard Sichel, who oversees about $1.9 billion as chief investment officer at Philadelphia Trust Co., told The San Francisco Chronicle. “And then you have earnings rolling full steam now so it becomes a stock-by-stock market.”

Companies are increasing hiring
Economists and hiring managers agree – an increase in hiring is either happening or is about to happen. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the value of the dollar is on the rise and that is helping boost hiring, as companies take advantage of the increase in profits coming their way.

Bloomberg reported that payrolls have increased by 195,000 workers for the second month in a row up to June and jobless claims have stayed close to a four-year low at 7.6 percent. Companies are gaining confidence and hiring more people – especially in cities like Chicago, Las Vegas and Charlotte, North Carolina.

“We’re hiring more managers, we’re looking for quality people when they’re available and bringing them in as we’re looking to accelerate our growth,” Thomas J. Pennison, chief financial officer, said in a July 16 conference call, according to the news source.

Especially in the northwest portion of the nation, recruiting and staffing professionals are finding the number of jobs and clients looking to fill positions are increasing.

“In the Pacific Northwest, I think people are feeling better about the economy, but we’re not seeing much new hiring,” Chief Executive Officer J. Powell Brown said in a July 16 earnings call, according to the news source. “People are doing more with the same amount of employees.”

What does this mean for staffing and recruiting professionals?
For a staffing and recruiting professional, the ramp up in hiring signals an increase in the number of job orders you will have to fill. As a result, your sales, recruiting, and order fulfillment processes and strategy meetings will need to be more efficient and accomplish more in less time. With the right software solutions, professionals will find that this increase in jobs will result in higher profits with less effort.