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Despite some cooling, labor market remains surprisingly resilient

Employers in certain markets and industries are still hiring top talent for key roles.

“So far, every step of the way has been awesome.” Ethan Edwards, Oklahoma City – Speaking about his experience with Aquent / Aquent Talent and how they helped place him in a new lead strategic planner role.

How the economic picture, and the labor market in particular, will look in 2023 was the topic of a recent AP News article. Referencing the Labor Department's December jobs report, the article noted employers added 223,000 jobs for the month, and the unemployment rate fell from 3.6% to 3.5%, matching a 53-year low. But, last month's jobs gain was the smallest in two years, and it extended a hiring slowdown that began last year. 

Nevertheless, the pace of hiring is still showing surprising resilience. To illustrate this, the article included the story of Ethan Edwards from Oklahoma City. For the past year, Edwards looked to change careers to a field where he could work remotely. With the help of Aquent, he recently accepted a position with a digital marketing company where he now leads strategic planning. On his experience with Aquent, Edwards said, “every step of the way has been awesome.”

The article goes on to note that different aspects of the economy are reflecting different trends. While larger businesses, especially those in technology, have been laying off workers in recent months, smaller companies (those with fewer than 500 employees) are still hiring. As always, multiple variables, from the labor market to mortgage rates, will have an impact on different aspects of the economy in the year ahead.

This article originally appeared on AP News.

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