US Manufacturing
U.S. jobs growth has been impacted by weather in the past two months, thus also suggesting some weakness in the labor market. On a positive note, manufacturing grew faster than projected against Mother Nature. The economy added 175,000 jobs in February. One manufacturing association predicts that employment can grow 300,000 jobs every year with $1.5 trillion added to the economy. Additionally temporary employment sees a significant increase Regulation continues to be the biggest threat to manufacturing, especially in the energy and chemical manufacturing sector.
Employers continue to face the challenge and competition of hiring top talent against the rising demand. While statistics show that more professionals are willing to make a change, their rising expectations are limiting employers ability to hire, especially for employers less willing to compete at the highest level. Risks abound, future market uncertainty, instability in the global economy, pressures from current customer relationships are all significant impacts on an employers decisions. It will be interesting to see how the first quarter closes and what level of stability we might see entering April.