Hello 2025! Employment outlook as we start out the new year

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This year has started with a dramatic bang. I can only imagine how the rest of the year will unfold!

So, beginning with some positive news: The US economy is showing extraordinary staying power as it heads into January 2025, with persistent growth and a lively job market. The best executive resume writers are ready to help you manage these changes. We have our team in place, ready to do just that.

Here is a look at the current economic trends and employment growth patterns that define this period, heavy on stats and at-a-glance readability.
(Sources/Credit: Reuters, APNews, Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Retail Federation) 

Economic Growth and Stability
The U.S. economy has maintained its growth trajectory at a reasonable clip. The economy expanded at an annual rate of 3% in the third quarter of 2024, driven by strong consumer spending and increased business investments.
This uptick is expected to continue in 2025, with estimates of 2% and 2.5% growth. However, this might be influenced by upcoming trade policies, changes in immigration, and fiscal regulations. Hold on tight!

Labor Market Performance
The labor market remains a cornerstone of our economic strength.
For December 2024, the economy added 256,000 jobs, more than the consensus forecast, and brings the total for this year to about 2.2 million. This reflects an average of 186,000 jobs added per month which is slightly below the 2023 average of 251,000. The unemployment rate stayed steady at 4.1%, reinforcing the healthy landscape of employment.

Industry-Specific Job Growth
Several key sectors have driven the gains in employment:
• Health Care: Payrolls rose by 46,000 in December, with gains in home healthcare, nursing and residential care facilities, and hospitals. The healthcare sector has averaged 57,000 jobs per month thus far in 2024, the same as the average monthly gain in 2023.
• Retail Trade: Retail added 43,000 jobs in December, after a decline in November. Gains occurred in clothing and accessories, general merchandise, and health and personal care stores. For the year, retail employment was unchanged.

Government Sector Growth
The public sector continued to chug along upwards with 33,000 jobs added in December. In 2024, government employment has added an average of 37,000 per month – (though down from a 59,000-average monthly gain posted in 2023).

Monetary Policy by Federal Reserve
The Federal Reserve has been playing an important role in shaping economic conditions. After many interest rate hikes aimed at containing inflation, the Fed started slashing rates from late 2024 onward.

However, it has been cutting at a gradual pace, a sign of how officials have acted cautiously in response to elevated inflation and a strong labor market. This is intended to keep economic growth going while sustaining price stability.

Challenges and Key Considerations
Looks good, but a few challenges persist:

  • Labor Force Participation: An aging population and lower immigration rates will result in a decreasing labor supply, which might dampen job growth in the future. The ratio of job openings to unemployed persons remains above 1:1, reflecting tight labor market conditions.
    • Sectoral Imbalances: Although a few sectors of the economy, such as health and retail, have posted strong performances in employment growth over the years, other industries within the economy have contributed negligible job creation-growth rates in areas related to information and financial services among others.

    Outlook for the Economy in 2025

    Most forecasters are very optimistic about the outlook of the US economy in 2025.

While there are challenges, the general outlook remains positive for ongoing job creation and economic growth in the months ahead. So, get your resume and LinkedIn in order and create a strong and strategic job search plan. If you need help, let me know.  

Industry Review – What's Growing in America

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With 9% unemployment nationwide being the new norm, people are looking at other industries to find work. They may not have experience in their new industry, but you go where the opportunities are.
So what new industries are open to American job seekers? Some may surprise you.
1. Green Technologies
Managing, scientific and technical jobs abound. The key to getting these jobs is having a background in them, but any new industry will need accountants, marketing personnel and office workers. The industry may have changed but the need for office workers has not.
2. Services for the elderly and health care
With so many people approaching retirement, or way past, the health care sector has never looked more promising. Those babyboomers are going to need someone to assist them with their services. These include health care cost, nursing homes and finding work for the elderly, who are still working late into their 70s and 80s.
3. Speech therapist and physical rehabilitation workers
The third fastest growing industry also deals with health. But this time it’s helping people recover from injury or developing needed parts of speech. More children are diagnosed with speech impairments now than ever. This requires people knowledgeable in dealing with these ailments.
4. Data processing, web hosting and online services
As the world changes, so does the way that we receive and send information. With almost everyone using the internet as the chosen medium of communication, more people are needed to man the ever increasing data stream. These people range from data processors to people with capabilities maintaining existing infrastructure. Improvements are needed as well, so expect this segment to grow.
5. Computer design and related services
Designing user interfaces that work with existing data streams will become even more important as new programs are needed to help workers diagnose problems and troubleshoot.
If you are looking for work, don’t just limit yourself to only the industry you are comfortable in. Revisit your resume, look at your skillset and see what other opportunities are out there for someone with your qualifications and experience.

Every year experts in their respective fields talk to employers, look at statistics and then take their best guess about what will happen in the job market. Of course 2011 is no different. People want to know if there will be more college graduates hired, will salaries go up or go down and is there a chance employees will see an increase in their performance reviews?


According to available information the job market has begun to look up and there are hopeful signs everywhere. Unemployment rates have held steady at around 10 percent, so it’s good to see some kind of recovery start to take shape.
Recent College Graduate Outlook
The good news is that recent college graduates may have better luck finding jobs. The National Association of Colleges and Employers released their Job Outlook 2011 Fall Preview survey and employers expect to hire at least 13.5 percent more new college graduates from the 2011 graduating class compared to 2010 college graduates. Of the participating employers, nearly half of them expected to increase hiring, where about 40 percent expected to maintain the same level of new college hires.
However, some college degrees still pay more than others. Particularly those college students with engineering degrees still have the highest level of being hired out of college. In fact, all engineering degrees are expected to see growth.
Salary Projections and Increased Salaries
For those that are not recent college grads, but still want to know their job prospects and salary projections for 2011, there is a small flicker of sunlight on the horizon. Projected salary increases for 2010 were thought to be around 2 to 3 percent and the outlook for 2011 is a little bit better. The projections for 2011 are that employers will be able to raise their budgets enough to work with a 3 percent increase in salary according to Plan Sponsor.
That does not mean that each and every employee and job seeker will receive a 3 percent salary increase just because their employer’s budget increased, so don’t go in expecting the increase to hit suddenly. Annual salary increases usually work by creating a pool of cash, which is set aside for each independent department, so that it is the equivalent of 3 percent of that department’s salaries. The pool of money is then divided between employees based on seniority and role within the company.
So as experts begin to predict growth for the 2011 job market there creates good news for soon to graduate college students and those who are still looking for work. Things are looking up but it still might take some time to fully recover. Rome wasn’t built in a day and your financial security and job prospects won’t be either. Keep your ear to the grindstone and start pounding out connections because you never know when that dream job will be right around the corner.