As 2013 comes to a close and we look towards 2014, overall signs of changes to the employment marketplace indicate that there may be a better picture for workers in 2014.  But, upon closer inspection, the results appear to be mixed.

A Mixed Bag

The BLS recently released its November employment figures and we saw the unemployment rate drop from 7.3% to 7.0%.  Is this a good sign?  At first glance, yes.  However, a deeper dive into the November Bureau of Labor Statistics report shows that there are still some fundamental problems with the employment marketplace.  Total non-farm payroll added 203,000 jobs in November and has been averaging 195,000 jobs per month in the prior 12 months.  However, a moderate part of this increase came in transportation and warehousing, which includes truck transportation, warehousing, and storage, and air transportation.  Retail trade employment also expanded in November, with a bump of 22,000 jobs.  Seasonal?  It appears so. We'll need to see what happens in early 2014 whether this is a longer term trend.

National survey reveals the voice of the job seeker, their confidence levels and what HR professionals say to expect in 2014

Nexxt announced results from a comprehensive national survey of unemployed Americans to illustrate their experience looking for work in 2013 and determine their confidence for finding employment in the year ahead. HR Professionals were included among those surveyed, answering questions on hiring trends for 2014 and what those out of work should prepare for in the impending job market.

The survey, which included more than 2,300 responses from unemployed in various industries, found that although almost 80% of respondents had applied to jobs multiple times a week in 2013, fewer than 15% of them were able to secure more than 5 interviews for the year and a shocking amount of respondents (33%) said they had none at all. Despite this lack of actual interviews, the applications for employment were steady, with over half of those surveyed (52%) reporting they applied to over 20 jobs in 2013, and 87% saying they planned to apply more frequently in 2014.