Tag Archives: hiring in Massachusetts

Newest Job Numbers Offer Reason to Celebrate; Mass. Adds 16,000 Jobs in January

Posted on by • Posted in On Jobs • Tagged , , • Leave a comment

In a press release issued today, the Massachusetts’ Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development offers a very positive outlook for the local employment market. The office announced that, according to revised benchmark numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Massachusetts employers added a total of almost 93,000 new jobs over the past two years, 32,100 more jobs than previously estimated. Revisions to the statewide unemployment rate did not change much in 2012 and show that the unemployment rate for every month in 2012 was between 6.6% and 6.8%.

In January 2013, the Massachusetts unemployment rate was 6.7% and more than 16,000 new jobs were added to the economy.

Every year the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releases year-end revisions to its previous estimates for job growth and unemployment. While initial estimates of job growth are based on surveys of representative samples, the benchmark revisions are based on actual data collected from employers in the Commonwealth through September 2012. Revised jobs numbers for the last quarter of 2012 are still based on projections.

Economists Predict Hiring to Pick Up in 2013

Posted on by • Posted in On Jobs • Tagged , , , , • Leave a comment

While hiring for full-time jobs is relatively slow right now, which many say is due to uncertainty in Washington, economists predict the pace of hiring among Boston employers will pick up steam later in 2013. In particular, certain industries will see more demand than others, including construction, professional technology services, IT, and hospitality industries.

In contrast, the temporary staffing market is experiencing record growth. An annual survey and forecast from Staffing Industry Analysts predicts that the use of temporary staffing will hit record numbers in 2013. This year, temporary hires across all industries are expected to reach 106 percent of their historical high and some sectors, such as locum tenens physicians and nurses and IT and engineering/design professionals, will far exceed the average.

Massachusetts Unemployment Rate Holds Steady at 6.6%

Posted on by • Posted in On Jobs • Tagged , , • Leave a comment

According to Massachusetts’ Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, the state’s unemployment rate held steady at 6.6 percent in November. It had increased during each of the previous four months. While the local economy lost 1,100 jobs last month, there are 46,600 more jobs in Massachusetts now than there were one year ago.

Earlier this month, the US Department of Labor reported that the nation’s unemployment rate for November was 7.7 percent, down from 7.9 percent in October. 

More Employers Plan to Hire Recent Grads

Posted on by • Posted in On Jobs • Tagged , , , • Leave a comment

More than half (54 percent) of employers surveyed recently by CareerBuilder.com and CareerRookie.com say they plan to hire recent college graduates. Last year 46 percent said they’d be hiring new college grads and in 2010 44 percent planned to hire new graduates.

The survey also asked employers which college majors they looked for and 39 percent responded that business degrees were most desirable. Computer and information sciences (24 percent) and engineering (23 percent) are also in demand.

The 2012 responses mark the first time since the Great Recession that a majority of employers plan to add recent college graduates to their staff. Read more about the survey here.

Brighter Job Outlook for 2012 College Grads

Posted on by • Posted in On Jobs • Tagged , , , • Leave a comment

A recent survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) found that businesses expect to hire 9.5 percent more college graduates this year than last, broadening a recovery since 2009 when such hiring plummeted 22 percent.

The Collegiate Employment Research Institute (CERI) at Michigan State University also reported that it expects hiring of new college graduates to rise 7 percent, which is a moderate rate compared with last year’s. Based on the responses it received, CERI reports that “This year’s market appears to be broader and a little deeper and shows a more consistent pattern of growth across industry sectors as well as by company size. Uncertainty has lessened somewhat among these employers and is reflected in a higher intention to hire college students, approaching the optimism of the 2007-2008 college labor market. More confidence is leading more employers to increase their hiring targets. Still one-third have decided to cut their hiring goals for this year.”

According to CERI, nearly 40 percent of employers will be hiring candidates from all majors, seeking the best talent regardless of field of study. Computer science majors are still in strong demand in nearly every sector, and the supply of graduates will not be sufficient to fill all available positions. Accounting, most engineering disciplines, finance, and supply chain are expected to do well this year. Some of the strongest growth will be among marketing, advertising, and public relations; sales positions are increasing as well as related services to extend employer brands. Nursing, clinical laboratory scientists, human resources, chemistry, statistics, and mathematics are just some of the majors that will see more opportunities this year.

Unemployment among college graduates up to age 24 dropped from 9.8 percent in February 2011 to 8.1 percent last month, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But that is well above the 4.6 percent rate in 2008. February’s unemployment rate for the same ages with just a high school diploma was 22.5 percent.

Massachusetts Unemployment Rate Holds Steady; Economic Growth Not as Robust as Initially Predicted

Posted on by • Posted in On Jobs • Tagged , , • Leave a comment

Yesterday the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development announced that Massachusetts’ unemployment rate in January held steady at 6.9 percent (compared to 8.3 percent nationally) and that 6,600 jobs were added by Massachusetts employers. The state Department of Labor also reported revised jobs figures for 2011, including a dramatic revision to the overall number of jobs created last year. The revised data states that just over 9,000 jobs were created in Massachusetts during 2011, compared with initial estimates of nearly 41,000 jobs. Local economists are somewhat surprised by the change and believe the real number is somewhere between the two figures.

Read more here.

PSG’s Aaron Green Talks to NECN about Massachusetts Hiring Forecast

Posted on by • Posted in On Jobs, PSG News • Tagged , , , , , , • Leave a comment

PSG President Aaron Green was a guest on last night’s NECN Business show. Aaron was invited to be interviewed about the release of PSG’s most recent Quarterly Human Resources Survey. He spoke about the Massachusetts employment environment with NECN Business anchor John Daly and highlighted an increase in hiring and recruiting locally. PSG’s quarterly human resources survey details Massachusetts employment trends based on client survey results. In the survey PSG asks clients for their responses to questions about hiring and staffing, salary and compensation, concern over retention and recruiting talent and budgets for HR spending.

To request a copy of PSG’s survey results please contact your PSG representative or call us (at 617-250-1000) or email info@psgstaffing.com.

PSG’s Aaron Green Talks about IT Jobs with the Boston Business Journal

Posted on by • Posted in On Jobs, PSG News • Tagged , , , , , , • Leave a comment

Technology jobs, particularly at software companies, are increasing in Massachusetts and demand for talent in this area is growing.  This week’s Boston Business Journal article, Information Technology a Bright Spot for Local Economy, explains more.