The government shutdown has delayed the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ jobs report, but private data suggests the market remains challenging, though there are a few bright spots for job seekers.
In the latest publicly available BLS jobs report, employers added just 22,000 jobs in August. Most industries were flat or shrank, but health care and social assistance drove much of the gains, adding about 31,000 and 16,000 jobs, respectively. Leisure and hospitality, which includes restaurants and bars, also added 28,000 jobs in August. Still, other sectors' losses offset those gains.
Over the past several months, health care and social assistance have stood out as reliable engines of job growth. In the last three months of BLS data, health care added about 114,000 jobs and social assistance added around 63,000 – together accounting for nearly 3 in 4 added in that same period.
Over the past year of BLS data, these two sectors accounted for a little more than half of all new jobs, with health care adding about 499,000 and social assistance adding around 333,000.
The market may be tough for job seekers outside these industries, but staffing firm experts say there are still opportunities if you know where to look.
