According to an article in yesterday’s USA Today, Careerbuilder.com says fewer employers expect to add workers in the second quarter. Note that the numbers are far from staggering – 29% of employers said they planned to hire new employees in the second quarter, which is down from 34% in the first quarter – and could probably be explained by normal business cycle fluctuations. But, this is what qualifies as employment news, so soak it in.

The article does point out that, even as the economy has slowed in recent months, the unemployment rate of 4.5% was near the lowest it has been in six years (another triumph for the Bush administration!). To me, this indicates that the job market is still pretty strong. Another clue to that end is that the U.S reached its yearly quota for H-1B visas in a single day. So somebody is out there looking for qualified labor, albeit at likely-below-market-wages.

One of the biggest problems still remains finding qualified workers to fill open positions, at least according to 37% of the employers polled by Careerbuilder.com. If you are qualified and motivated to find a new and better job, it is very likely that you will be successful in your quest.

Be careful of “micro-reporting” of statistics – jobless claims have risen for the most recent week (but overall trend is strong) – because they rarely provide an accurate picture of the overall situation.

Tags: hiring trends, job market, job search trends, labor market

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