U.S. Department of Labor employment numbers for February 2016 far exceeded economist expectations. The labor market added around 242,000 jobs for the month, more than 50,000 than the month's projection. Revisions to the December and January totals were also announced Friday.
Despite stock market turbulence and tumbling oil prices -- or perhaps because of those factors -- the strong February hiring numbers are the best indicator yet that the 2016 job market is friendly to seekers.
Healthcare and social assistance jobs were leaders for the month. That's unexceptional from the standpoint that healthcare was one of the rare sectors that avoided huge losses during the recession.
Healthcare's continued growth and historic stability are two excellent reasons to consider a career in this industry. The CareerCast Healthcare Network is a great resource to get started.
If you work in another sector, however, it's been awhile since the outlook for you pursuing a new opportunity was this favorable.
The Society of Human Resource Managers' Leading Indicators of Employment accurately projected February's substantial employment gains, and SHRM's March 2016 LINE report shows more positive hiring indicators in the month to come.
If this sunny job landscape does indeed have you considering a move, one thing to consider is how the addition of new people in the workforce impacts other factors. One is wage.
The New York Times Upshot reports wage growth isn't as high as employment increases. Before making a move, consider your salary demands and decided accordingly.
As our report on Expert Job Tips for 2016 states, employers are not always open to traditional salary negotiations. Just because it's a seeker's market doesn't necessarily mean you can write your own paycheck.