New Numbers!

Yesterday the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Employment Situation Summary for July 2012, and the results aren't bad!  The BLS reports  "Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 163,000 in July....  Employment rose in professional and business services, food services and drinking places, and manufacturing."   The unemployment rate is "essentially unchanged" with a slight increase from 8.217% in June to 8.254% in July.

The manufacturing sector added 25,000 jobs in July - continuing a post-recession growth streak.  While we may never recover the millions of manufacturing jobs we've lost leading up to and during the recession, this sector is certainly making a comeback.  Of the manufacturing jobs added in July, 12,800 were in the auto arena.

Some other insights:

Professional and business services grew by 49,000 jobs in July.

Education and health services added 38,000 jobs.

The hospitality industry saw 27,000 new positions.

Wholesale trade grew by 9,200 jobs.

The government shrank by 9,000 jobs.

Meanwhile, The Conference Board has reported their Consumer Confidence Index rose 3.2 points last month.   

I feel that consumer confidence and employment are closely linked, and the increase in consumer confidence will translate to the employment market shortly.   In my own practice, I've seen quite a few clients land great new jobs in the past couple of weeks (congratulations, you guys!!!!).