The May jobs report, released this morning, offers some good news: It indicates that the economy overall is good for many job seekers, including recent grads and professionals looking for a new career path, and offers perks for employed workers, too.
Data shows that over the past month, the U.S. economy added 223,000 jobs, putting the unemployment rate at an 18-year low of 3.8 percent. Average hourly earnings rose by 8 cents, helping to push average wage growth up to 2.7 percent over the past year. That's a slight increase from the 2.6 percent seen in the past three months.
Below, Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at personal finance site Bankrate.com, breaks down for CNBC Make It what all of this could mean for different kinds of job seekers today.
Recent college grads
Hamrick says the data shows employers are not hiring recent graduates in the same numbers as they once were. Overall, employers plan to hire 1.3 percent fewer graduates from the Class of 2018 than they did from the Class of 2017, according to recent data from the National Association of Colleges and Employers. This marks the first decrease in hiring predictions since 2010, when employers planned to cut hiring by 7 percent.
Two industries in particular led to this overall drop: insurance and retail. Recent natural disasters like hurricanes and floods resulted in expensive losses for insurance firms and a dip in hiring, while an increase in online shopping trends led to a decrease in retail hiring.
While this slight slump may put some graduates on edge, Hamrick says it's nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, he says, it's part of a normal economic cycle, which many economists say could soon take a downturn due to expected interest rate spikes and a more increases in mortgage rates.
"The economic expansion that began in 2009 is obviously entering its ninth year, and it is now on course to rival the longest economic expansion since the end of World War II, which will be 10 years," he said. "So, like a lot of things that are mature, the economic expansion doesn't move as fast as it used to."
He says one upside for recent graduates is that the increased number of retiring baby boomers is making room for young people to enter the workforce. However, he warns that the only way a young person will remain in the workforce is if they continue improving their skills because "the thought that prevailed a half century ago that training ends with a degree is no longer a luxury."
Professionals at a job
Hamrick says the market may favor professionals. While wage growth may be slow, he says now is a good time for workers to take advantage of other benefits employers are offering, like additional training support and tuition assistance.
He points to Walmart as an example. Recently, the retail giant announced that it will help pay for its 1.4 million U.S. workers to earn a college degree. This includes its full-time, part-time and salaried Walmart and Sam's Club employees. Other large companies like Starbucks, Chipotle, Amazon and McDonald's have also rolled out similar programs to help their workers go back to school.
"That doesn't necessarily show up on your W-2 as pay," says Hamrick, "but there is an economic value to that."
He adds that today's increased competition for good employees can mean better perks for you. "Where employers are seeing a shortage of workers, they are biting the bullet and providing some sort of training," he says.
Professionals considering a career change
The May jobs report shows signs of increased employment in several industries including construction, health care, manufacturing and transportation. Hamrick says now may not be a bad time to weigh your options and look at industries where workers are in high demand.
He also suggests that professionals looking for a career change remain open to a location change as well. "We know the cities on the coast tend to add the most jobs," he says. "But as we know there are also pockets like Ames, Iowa, which has the lowest unemployment rate right now, around 1.5 percent."
In addition to Ames, Iowa, other less populous locations like Vermont are luring professionals from other places. Recently, Governor Phil Scott signed a bill that will give people $10,000 to move to the state and work remotely.
"We have about 16,000 fewer workers than we did in 2009. That's why expanding our workforce is one of the top priorities of my administration," Scott said in a statement. "We must think outside the box to help more Vermonters enter the labor force and attract more working families and young professionals to Vermont."
Bestselling management author and CNBC contributor Suzy Welch agrees that anyone looking for a career change should also be open to a change in location.
"Plenty of us move between houses or from one town to another, but according to federal census data, upwards of 60 percent of Americans spend their lives in the same state where they were born," Welch tells CNBC Make It. "The truth is, the place you know and love is not necessarily the best place for your career."
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