Wall Street Journal (03/06/15) Eric Morath

The U.S. unemployment rate is now in the U.S. Federal Reserve’s target zone—between 5.2% and 5.5%—following the strongest stretch of job creation in 20 years. Interest rates could be raised as early as June, and investors are concerned about higher borrowing costs and slimmer corporate profits.

Associated Press (03/08/15)

In light of stubbornly stagnant wages, President Obama has obtained commitments from more than 300 companies as well as certain local governments to train and hire high-technology workers in an effort to drive up higher-income employment. Obama is expected to announce the program, dubbed TechHire, during a speech today to the National League of Cities. According to the Obama administration, the average salary for workers with high-tech skills is 50% higher than the average private-sector U.S. job.

Conference Board News Release (03/09/15)

The Conference Board Employment Trends Index increased in February to 127.76, up from a downwardly revised 127.62 in January. This represents a 6.7% gain in the ETI compared with a year ago.

“The [ETI] increased for the 14th consecutive time, the longest positive stretch in 30 years,” says Gad Levanon, managing director of macroeconomic and labor market research at the Conference Board. “Strong job growth and the rapid decline in the unemployment rate are likely to continue, and acceleration in wage growth is just a matter of time.”

Society for Human Resource Management (03/05/15)

Hiring activity in March is likely to increase in the manufacturing and service sectors compared with a year earlier, according to the Society for Human Resource Management’s Leading Indicators of National Employment survey. A net of 44.5% of manufacturers and 44.0% of service-sector companies will add jobs this month.

In February, pay rates for both sectors improved from a year earlier, and recruiting difficulty increased. A net of 12.0% of manufacturers reported increasing new-hire compensation in February, up 5.3 points from a year ago. A net total of 18% of service-sector companies increased new-hire compensation in February, up 8.0 points from a year ago. A net of 26.0% of manufacturers had more difficulty with recruiting in February, up 18.8 points from a year ago. A net of 13.7% of service-sector companies had more difficulty recruiting in February, up 3.4 points from a year ago.