New from NCCI: March 2024 Labor Market Insights Dashboard

NCCI released the March 2024 - Labor Market Insights report.

As the changing workforce and economic conditions continue to be top of mind, this valuable resource delivers timely perspectives on what the latest jobs report means for workers compensation.

Key Insights:

Employment growth in February came in stronger than expected. The US economy added 275,000 jobs overall, with 223,000 jobs added in private employment; however, the details of the jobs report were mixed.

Revisions to December and January lowered net employment gains by a total of 167,000 jobs over the two months. This brings employment gains from stellar back to just strong.

At the industry level, employment gains were broad. Construction, retail, transportation, healthcare, and leisure and hospitality services all saw strong job gains.

Average hourly earnings growth remained in line with the recent trend as average hours worked ticked up, providing a bit of a boost to average weekly earnings growth. Strong wage growth and strong employment growth in February helped boost payroll growth over the past 12 months back above 5%.

The unemployment rate moved higher while labor force participation was unchanged. Despite strong employment gains reported from the establishment survey, the household survey has started to diverge, instead reporting a small loss of employment.

The two employment surveys have diverged twice over the past few years. Both times, the establishment survey was proven to be more accurate. While not concerning yet, this trend is worth keeping a close eye on.

Access the full report and check back monthly for the latest insights into how the labor market continues to evolve and what it means for workers compensation.

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