Some Advice For Millennials From The July Jobs Report

After years of worrying, leaders at the Federal Reserve are cautiously optimistic that the American economy has stabilized and is almost back to—what’s that word again?—normal. The good news comes in the form of another strong jobs report in which 215,000 new jobs were added last month, according to a recent report from the Los Angeles Times.

It’s not just the volume of jobs that’s worth the celebration: according to the Times, the unemployment rate seems to have bottomed out at 5.3%—the lowest rate in seven years—and national hourly earnings increased by a nickel in July to just under $25 an hour. The good-news report is the 15th time in 17 months that the economy added more than 200,000 net new jobs in a single month, but it’s important to note that a large chunk of the new positions exist in low-paying industries and general wage rates are growing too slowly to fully relax.

Still, the July jobs report seems positive enough to spark potential action on the part of the Fed to increase its historically low federal funds rate, which has remained at the same benchmark for nearly a decade. (In essence, in response to the Great Recession, the recently low Fed interest rate has encouraged spending and borrowing over saving.) Fed officials have hinted that the rate will finally get a bump next month, which critics worry is still too soon as the economy is far from secure.

So, what does all of this mean for millennials? Most of us are too abstracted from American macroeconomics to care (or even understand) what a potential Fed interest rate hike means, but the jobs reports and that specific news is worth reading into and thinking about. While the information isn’t exactly the type that should spur you into a career change, it might be enough to streamline your job hunt. Of the 215,000 jobs added in July, 36,000 came in the form of retail positions and 28,000 were created by healthcare providers. Meanwhile, technical service industries like architecture and computer system design saw a spike of 27,000 jobs and manufacturers gained 15,000 new jobs. Generally, there are no surprises here, but the July report confirms that these specific industries are growing, sometimes slowly, and in some cases signal longterm viability.

If there’s one industry leading the pack, at least for career-minded young people, it’s healthcare. While the 28,000 new healthcare jobs added last month might be just enough for second place, Forbes reports that the industry at large is one of a few nearly sure-thing career options considering the current and long-term potential for growth. For reference, the number of new registered nurses in the field is expected to reach more than 700,000 between 2010 and 2020, which means you still have plenty of time to be a part of the surge, even if you need to the required education. RN’s typically are required to earn an Associates Degree to land a certified position, but personal care aides, for example, are also a part of the industry at large and often only need a high-school diploma to secure a job. In that instance, economists expect almost as many new jobs—around 600,000—to be added over the same period.