• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Groundbreak Carolinas

MENUMENU
  • News
  • Careers
  • Resources
    • 2020 ABC of the Carolinas EIC Awards
    • AEC Industry Blogs
    • AEC School Directory
    • Asbestos Resources
    • Content Marketing
    • Coronavirus Resources
    • Diversity and Inclusion
    • Economic Forecasts
    • GroundBreak Carolinas Newsletter Archive
    • Health and Wellness
    • New Silica Standard Resources
    • Workforce Development Resources
  • Subscribe

GroundBreak Carolinas

Your source for construction industry news in the Carolinas

MENUMENU
  • Featured
  • Business
    • Accounting
    • Government Affairs
    • Management
    • Human Resources
    • Finance, Bonding, & Insurance
    • Leadership
    • Marketing & BD
    • Operations Management
    • Legal
    • Risk Management
    • Technology
  • Markets
    • Commercial
    • Distribution / Warehouse
    • Government Facilities
    • Health Care
    • Hotels / Hospitality
    • Industrial/Manufacturing
    • Mission Critical / Data Centers
    • Residential/Multi-Family Residential
    • Office Buildings
    • Power / Energy
    • Retail / Shopping Centers
    • Roads, Bridges and Highways
    • Schools (K-12 and Higher Education)
    • Strategy
  • Workforce
    • Apprenticeships
    • Education
      • Colleges
      • High Schools
      • Technical Schools
    • Recruiting
    • Safety
    • Training
    • Veterans Programs
  • Operations
    • Architecture
    • Contracting
    • Energy
    • Engineering
    • Equipment
    • Facilities
    • Products
  • Projects
  • People
  • Economic Development
  • Partners
  • News
  • Events
  • Careers
  • Resources
    • AEC Industry Blogs
    • AEC School Directory
    • Asbestos Resources
    • Content Marketing
    • Coronavirus Resources
    • Economic Forecasts
    • GroundBreak Carolinas Newsletter Archive
    • New Silica Standard Resources
    • Workforce Development Resources
  • Let’s Talk Construction

Management

2022 Starts with Strong Job Growth

by Conference Board on February 4, 2022

Today’s jobs report showed a better-than-expected increase in the number of jobs in January. Disruptions related to the Omicron variant do not seem to have derailed continued progress in the labor market. However, headwinds for employers persist, as labor shortages are still severe and economic activity remains healthy.

Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 467,000 in January, after an upwardly revised increase of 510,000 in December. The unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 4.0 percent, as the number of job-leavers and those on temporary layoffs increased; the labor force participation rate remained essentially the same at 62.2 percent in January after taking the new population controls into account. Overall, jobs still number 2.9 million below prepandemic (February 2020) levels, with women representing 63 percent of these employment losses. Note that this month’s release incorporates larger revisions to the Establishment Survey (used for nonfarm payroll employment) and Household Survey (used for the unemployment rate). Revisions to payroll employment were especially large over the past year.

Leisure and hospitality gained 151,000 jobs in January—a possible signal that businesses have become better at continuing operations amid a surge in COVID-19 infections. A majority of other industries also added new jobs, except for construction and mining, where small job losses were recorded. On the other hand, many businesses still experienced disruptions. For example, 6 million people reported that they had been unable to work because their employer closed or lost business due to the pandemic at some point in the past four weeks, up from 3.1 million in December.

Wages continued to rise rapidly. Average hourly earnings increased 5.7 percent over the past 12 months, signaling that recruitment and retention difficulties remain high. With the unemployment rate expected to fall to near 3 percent by the end of the year, labor markets will remain tight in 2022 and likely beyond. The US working-age population is projected to barely grow over the next decade. Employers hiring manual labor and services workers (such as transportation, construction, food services, and personal care) will face an especially hard time finding qualified workers. In such an environment, wage growth will likely remain elevated, which in turn would put more pressure on price inflation.

Some relief could come for employers if more people would return to the labor force, but the labor force participation rate is still at 62.2 percent—more than 1 percentage point below its prepandemic rate. Continued improvements in the labor market and higher wages should attract some people back to the job market, and participation rates may improve slightly during 2022. On the other hand, workers retiring early during the pandemic explain part of the gap in participation, and few of these older workers are expected to return.

Job growth in November and December was revised up by 709,000, implying job growth did not slow towards the end of 2021. This jobs report supports the Fed’s increasingly hawkish guidance, and we are currently expecting at minimum four 25-basis-point interest-rate hikes in 2022.

Topics: Management
Economy

Primary Sidebar

What We’re Reading

  • Grace Church plans youth ministries center in downtown Greenville
    Source: Upstate Business Journal Published on May 28, 2025
  • Spartanburg/East Upstate notes: Designs complete for Spartanburg city/county complex
    Source: Upstate Business Journal Published on May 28, 2025
  • Williams Development, True Homes launch 231-home project in Winston-Salem
    Source: Business North Carolina Published on May 27, 2025
  • Turkish company to make $82 million investment in Goldsboro, create 216 jobs
    Source: Business North Carolina Published on May 27, 2025
  • Charlotte lawyers gain key posts at K&L Gates law firm
    Source: Business North Carolina Published on May 27, 2025

Recent Posts

  • Design-Build for Manufacturers: Collaboration is King
  • Senior Executives and Young Leaders Give Firsthand Advice to New Graduates Entering AEC Industry
  • Tariffs and the Transformation of Construction Financing and Delivery
  • Optimism and Opportunity: SCEDA’s 2025 Conference Highlights South Carolina’s Economic Momentum Amid Uncertainty
  • Western NC Construction Career Day Draws 600 High Schoolers: Inspiration for a Resilient Region
  • Search
  • News
  • Careers
  • Resources
    • 2020 ABC of the Carolinas EIC Awards
    • AEC Industry Blogs
    • AEC School Directory
    • Asbestos Resources
    • Content Marketing
    • Coronavirus Resources
    • Diversity and Inclusion
    • Economic Forecasts
    • GroundBreak Carolinas Newsletter Archive
    • Health and Wellness
    • New Silica Standard Resources
    • Workforce Development Resources
  • Subscribe

Footer

  • About GBC
  • Contact Us
  • Submit Editorial
  • Submit Event
  • Partnerships/Contributors

Sponsorship Opportunities

Join Our Mailing List

"*" indicates required fields

Name*
By clicking Submit you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2025 GroundBreak Carolinas LLC.

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use