U.S. Economy Adds Jobs for 100th Consecutive Month

In the January 2019 jobs report, the Department of Labor revealed the U.S. economy added jobs for the 100^th consecutive month, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 304,000 jobs in January, according to the latest report. In 2018, the average monthly job gain was 223,000 positions.

The Department of Labor also confirmed retail employment in January rose by 21,000 positions. The report cited hiring from sporting goods stores as one of the reasons retail positions rose in January.

Becky Frankiewicz, president of staffing firm ManpowerGroup North America, says as hiring increases, employers are also investing in training resources.

“Employment is growing in all sectors,” she says, “and firms are starting to invest more in training and upskilling because they realized the supply of workers is limited.”

The Department of Labor also revised its total job growth calculations for 2018 to 2,674,000  jobs added throughout the year.