September 2022 Market Trends Report
The U.S. economy added 315,000 jobs in August, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Employment Situation Summary. The latest BLS report shows continued growth in industrial sectors including manufacturing and construction, while unemployment percentage rose by 0.2% to 3.7%. It was the first rise in unemployment since January.
The manufacturing sector saw the largest job gains among industrial sectors in August, adding 22,000 jobs. The durable goods sector saw the majority of those gains, with 4,700 jobs added in fabricated metal products and 3,100 jobs added for the manufacturing of semiconductors and electronic components.
Construction employment also continued to trend up, adding 16,000 jobs in August. In construction, specialty trades contractors added 14,200 jobs while nonresidential building contractors added 700 jobs.
Job openings remain above pre-pandemic levels across major industrial sectors
The latest Job Opportunities and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report, which runs a month behind the BLS Employment Situation Summary, showed there were 11.2 million job openings on the last business day of July.
Job openings grew in both transportation, warehousing and utilities (+81,000) and construction (+22,000). For both sectors, it was a bounce back after decreases reported in June.
Employers continue to battle quits, consider ways to retain workers
Workers are continuing to quit at high rates. Voluntary quits, as measured by BLS, remained above 4 million for the 14th consecutive month. Quit levels saw spikes in transportation, warehousing and utilities (+39,000 over June) and construction (+12,000 over June), while quits in manufacturing were down (-12,000 over June).
Even a small decrease in quits is welcome news for the manufacturing industry, which has been plagued with a high quit rate since the start of the pandemic. On September 7, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce put it simply, offering: “Even if every unemployed person with experience in the durable goods manufacturing industry were employed, the industry would only fill 65% of the vacant jobs.”
High turnover continues to be a concern for supply chain employers across the world in industrial sectors. More than three-quarters of supply chain executives believe wages and bonuses will need to be increased to attract and retain warehouse workers moving forward, according to a survey conducted by warehouse automation and robotics firm Berkshire Grey. The survey found that 76% of executives believe they’ll need to raise wages and 63% believe they’ll need to increase bonuses to attract and retain workers.
Jobs Market Overview
3.7%
August's Overall Unemployment Rate
For the first time since January 2022, the unemployment rate increased.
315k
Jobs Added in August
Job growth in August included spikes in industrial sectors including manufacturing and construction.
62.4%
Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR)
The labor force participation rate increased by 0.3 percent over the month, but it remains 1 percent below its February 2020 level.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Situation Summary (bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm)
Industry Employment Trends
OVERALL ECONOMY
+315k
Monthly Job Change
(+4.0% YoY Difference)
| Industry | Monthly Job Change | YoY Difference |
| Manufacturing | +22k | +4.0% |
| Automotive | -1.9k | +3.7% |
| Warehouse & Storage | -6.2k | +7.0% |
| Architectural & Engineering | +9.5k | +6.3% |
| Construction | +16k | +4.2% |
| Consumer Services | +75.1k | +5.8% |
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Situation Summary
The Aerotek Take
“When there is this much movement in the labor market, employers are guaranteed to have at least one problem Aerotek can help them solve. Whether you’re looking to find a specific kind of talent or you’re just looking for any talent, we have the resources to help. We’re also prepared to help provide answers for the question many employers are asking more than others in today’s market – how do I retain the talent I have?”
Bill Ruff, Vice President of Strategic Sales
Spotlight: Repair and Maintenance
If you’re looking for maintenance talent, you’re not alone.
News outlets have highlighted countless private businesses searching for talent like one in the Milwaukee area with more than 30 openings across 18 locations. Maintenance workers are hard to come by in Nebraska, too, where the executive director of the Apartment Association of Nebraska says “the need (for maintenance workers) is greater than we’ve ever seen.”
Meanwhile, others are turning their eyes to the future. Hawaiian Airlines announced in August it has partnered with Honolulu Community College (HonCC) to graduate more local students as qualified aviation technicians. To lure workers, the Ohio Department of Transportation said it is providing on-the-job training and paying for each highway maintenance worker to obtain their commercial driver's license or CDL.
As employers look for maintenance talent, they are faced with demand for higher wages while battling rising expenditures within their departments. Wages have been steadily rising throughout 2022. Since April 2021, wages are up from $22.80 per hour to $24.39 per hour for production and nonsupervisory employees in repair and maintenance.
According to CBRE’s 2022 (Facilities Management) Cost Trends Report, the economic outlook points to further cost escalation for building operations, services and maintenance through 2023. CBRE’s report predicts that minimal improvement in labor force participation will continue to weigh on hiring, and ongoing tightness in the labor market will keep upward pressure on wages.
Even a small decrease in quits is welcome news for the manufacturing industry, which has been plagued with a high quit rate since the start of the pandemic. On September 7, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce put it simply, offering: “Even if every unemployed person with experience in the durable goods manufacturing industry were employed, the industry would only fill 65% of the vacant jobs.”
High turnover continues to be a concern for supply chain employers across the world in industrial sectors. More than three-quarters of supply chain executives believe wages and bonuses will need to be increased to attract and retain warehouse workers moving forward, according to a survey conducted by warehouse automation and robotics firm Berkshire Grey. The survey found that 76% of executives believe they’ll need to raise wages and 63% believe they’ll need to increase bonuses to attract and retain workers.
Repair and Maintenance: By the Numbers
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Average hourly and weekly earnings of production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, All employees, repair and maintenance, seasonally adjusted
Spotlight: The Aerotek Take
“Employers looking to attract and retain talent in today’s market need to better understand what it takes to provide an appealing place to work today and in the future. Not only do employers need to reconsider their initial approach to talent, but they need to reconsider the onboarding process to ensure they don’t lose talent on the way in. To ensure long-term success, it helps to have a partner like Aerotek that you can depend on to know what works and what doesn’t."
Quinn Heimann, Aerotek Director of Strategic Sales