The Labor Market continues to churn quite nicely, with initial jobless claims hovering at a four decade low. The labor market strength is reaching full employment status.
Applications submitted to state agencies for unemployment benefits decreased by 5,000 to 271,000 in the week ended Nov. 14 from 276,000 in the previous period, a Labor Department report showed Thursday. The number of claims dipped to 255,000 in mid-July, the fewest since the 1970s.
Steady demand has encouraged employers to hold the line on firings as a tighter labor market makes it difficult to attract skilled workers. Employment has shown enough signs of strength to allow Federal Reserve policy makers to consider raising rates for the first time in almost a decade.
We are seeing that locally as well. With the continual development of warehousing and distribution centers along the Interstate 81 corridor in Franklin and Cumberland counties, you are also seeing more and more temporary agency signs along roadways, posts on Facebook, and other avenues of advertising for labor. Procter & Gamble and Georgia-Pacific in Shippensburg added a significant amount of employees to the labor market, causing shortage at other distributions center in Chambersburg, Shippensburg, and Carlisle areas.
Here is a new article published in the Carlisle Sentinel regarding Aerotek and their attempt to fill 900 jobs in this area.
One Hanover, Maryland-based staffing agency is looking to fill more than 900 job openings in fields such as logistics, health care, manufacturing, warehousing and call-centers throughout Carlisle, Harrisburg, Lewisberry and Shippensburg. Aerotek is looking for candidates with a high school diploma or GED, with many positions offering hands-on and verbal training, the company said. Some positions offer an approximately 90-day contract-to-hire transition, with the opportunity to move up within the company.
“Central Pennsylvania’s job market is beginning to flourish as more companies turn to this area to handle their unprecedented growth and customer demand,” said Greg Long, director of operations at Aerotek’s Harrisburg base. “Companies are becoming more dynamic with how they adhere to their customer’s needs, and one of those major indicators is how quickly they are able to get their product to the customer.
