National Trends: New Hiring Occurs but Jobless Rate Remains the Same

With steady reports of the economy getting back on track, many companies are expanding new hires again. However, the positive outlook on the economy has also brought a number of "missing workers" back into the labor pool again. During the recession, many people became discouraged and stopped looking for work altogether, instead focusing their efforts on education, training, or caretaking for family members. As a result, these "missing workers" were not included in the unemployment rate, since only those people actively searching for work are included in the count.

Still, the news of companies taking on more employees and expanding their workforce is encouraging, and job seekers are taking advantage of the opportunities at hand. To read more about the findings from the Economic Policy Institute, take a look at this article in the New York Times.