Some observations:
– improved labor participation rate
– improved employment/population ratio [comment: better quality of the headline unemployment rate]
– shorter overall unemployment duration [comment: together with the above, indicated optimism as more returned to labor force]
– uptrend in temporary help services hiring [comment: positive, increased potential for permanent hiring]
– noted healthcare as the major hiring sector, while construction (non-residential specialty) suffered high job loss
– noted construction, leisure, and prof/biz services hv double-digit unemployment rates – diffusion index dropped to below 60 from over 70 [comment: uneven job growth among industries. If prolonged, may require further investigation into possible structural change of the economy.]
– mild decrease of “forced” part-time workers in non-agricultural sector
– Avg weekly hours flat [comment: slightly positive, serving as a reminder that despite recent improvement, the job growth is still slow and vulnerable to external shocks.]
