Jobs are essential for personal and economic growth. Having a fulfilling and well-paid job equals stability for most people. That means they can provide for themselves and their families. As a result, they’re boosting the economy by spending money on goods and services.

It’s only natural that every country aims at the highest employment rate possible. Still, having a steady labor market can be challenging. Let’s talk about job growth and see what the stats say. 

Top Job Growth by Year | Editor’s Choice

  • As of December 2022, 158 million people got employed in the US. 
  • The US labor force participation rate increased to 62.4% in February 2023.
  • By 2030, employment will grow by 11.9 million jobs.
  • The current unemployment rate is 3.6% as of February 2023
  • In October 2020, the unemployment rate was 6.9%.
  • By 2029, STEM occupations will grow by 8%. 
  • Texas employment is anticipated to grow by 1.7 million by 2028. 
  • There are 5.9 million unemployed Americans.

US General Job Growth Statistics for 2023

1. As of February 2023, 160.32 million people got employed in the US.

(Statista)

The massive unemployment rate devastated the US during the financial crisis in 2020 during the pandemic. 

In 2020, the employment numbers by year shrunk by 11 million from the previous year due to the coronavirus outbreak that caused many people to lose their jobs.  

However, from 2021 onward, the U.S. administration focused on creating new jobs and recovering from that tragic situation. As a result, the figures steadily increased after the crisis, from 152.58 million in 2022 to 160.32 million in February 2023.

2. The US economy added around 1 million jobs in the Q2 of 2022.

(US Department of Labor)

Even though more jobs were added in Q1 of 2022 than in Q2, it’s a sign of a stabilizing economy recovering from a deep recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Monthly employment growth statistics show that 375,000 jobs were created each month from April to June 2022. What’s more, total nonfarm employment is only 0.3% lower than pre-pandemic levels, but there’s more room for new jobs yet to be created. 

3. The Asian population earns $1,496 weekly, on average, for a full-time occupation as of January 2023.

(BLS)

Although many people constantly fight for the equality of ethnicities and genders, white people have been the race with the highest weekly earnings over the years; however, according to 2023 job growth statistics by year, Asians now make much more than whites and African Americans—who earn $1,111 and $896 weekly respectively for the same job and work hours.

4. According to job creation statistics, employment will increase by 11.9 million jobs by 2030.

(BLS & BLS )

The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts employment will increase from 153.5 million to 165.4 million by 2030. These numbers suggest an annual growth rate of 0.7%, a much lower percentage than former projections.

As the Bureau of Labor Statistics uses models based on historical data, the job projections for the next ten years don’t involve the impact of this unexpected pandemic. Nevertheless, COVID-19 caused radical changes to the economy and labor market that the BLS couldn’t anticipate.

5. There will be fewer people in the job market by 2029.

(The Balance Careers)

Unsurprisingly, fewer people will be in the labor market because of the baby boomers’ retirement.

Statistics on job growth in the US demonstrate that most baby boomers retired in 2011, while the youngest members will achieve this milestone by 2029. Consequently, the job market will lose many employees, as roughly one-fifth of the US will be over 65.

6. The number of workers in the US has increased by 30 million since 1991.

(Statista)

The job market has seen remarkable growth over the past three decades. Although the average job growth rate is constantly rising, the number of full-time workers experienced a colossal drop after the Great Recession. In addition, most full-time employees shifted to part-time jobs.

In December 2020, nearly 25.2 million people worked part-time due to the disastrous impact of COVID-19. Most employers choose to hire part-time workers during a crisis, as the costs associated with health insurance and annual leave can only be applied to full-time workers.

However, from 2021 onward, the U.S. administration focused on creating new jobs and recovering from that tragic situation. As a result, the figures steadily increased after the crisis, from 152.58 million in 2022 to 160.32 million in February 2023.

7. The professional and business services industry has the highest number of workers as of February 2023.

(Statista)

The private sector job creation is not measured by year but monthly. In 2022, the highest number of employees working in the private sector were employed in February. For comparison, that number dropped to 381,000 in June. 

As of February 2023, about 3.07 million people were working in the information industry in the United States. The professional and business services industry employs the most people in the U.S., with about 22.91 million people working in this industry.


Job Growth by Year and Unemployment Statistics

8. The current unemployment rate is 3.6%.

(BLS)

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the total nonfarm employment increased by 372,000 jobs in June, while the unemployment rate stayed at 3.6%. Unemployment rate statistics show that this is a slight increase from 3.5% in February 2020.

In February 2021, the leisure, hospitality, healthcare, social assistance, retail, and manufacturing industries gained more job positions. On the other hand, employment decreased in education, construction, and mining.

9. The highest unemployment rate ever recorded in the US is 24.9%.

(The Balance Careers)

The natural unemployment rate should fall between 3.5% and 4.5%. The highest unemployment rate by year in the history of the US economy was 24.9% in 1933, during the Great Depression. Between 1931 and 1940, the unemployment rate was around 14%. Although the idea of a business cycle suggests the economy may improve after a crisis, the unemployment rate can stay high for a while.

On the other hand, the lowest unemployment rate ever recorded in the US was 1.2% in 1944.

10. The unemployment rate was 6.9% in October 2020.

(Bureau of Labor Statistics)

In 2020, the unemployment rate decreased by 1% to 6.9%. Due to the global pandemic, the job growth rate has declined since the pre-pandemic period in February 2020, which stood at 3.5%. Regarding ethnicities, unemployment rates slightly differed, with 6% for Whites in October. In the same month, the unemployment rate decreased by 10.8% for African-Americans, 7.6% for Asians, and 8.8% for Latin Americans.

US President’s Job Creation by Year 

11. Since December 2022, 10.7 million new jobs have been created under Biden's administration.

(Fact Check)

Many factors can influence how many jobs Presidents can create during their term, such as the growth of the working-age population, immigration, the state of the economy, etc. 

The unemployment rate has drastically reduced in the past couple of years. The U.S. economy has added 10,726,000 jobs between Joe Biden's inauguration in January 2021 and December 2022. This figure is 1,239,000 higher than the February 2020 peak of employment before COVID-19 forced massive shutdowns and layoffs.

12. President Biden created 6.6 million new jobs monthly in the first 12 months of his term.

(CNN & Forbes)

Statistics from job growth by sector show that employers recorded 6.6 million jobs during Joe Biden’s first 12 months in office, the most outstanding record of any president’s first year.

During the first 31 months of Trump’s administration, the job growth was about 5.34 million jobs, or 172,000 jobs each month.

13. The US manufacturing industry will experience a 3.5 million shortage of experienced workers from 2015 to 2025.

(Deloitte)

The manufacturing industry has been the center of discussion for the last decade. As a result of this debate, some believe that manufacturing is not an indispensable industry in our rising digital era.

Approximately 3.5 million jobs in this industry will be at stake during this decade. Job growth statistics by year show that jobs in this industry will require basic technical training, computer skills, and problem-solving abilities that non-experienced workers don’t possess.

14. In the US, the manufacturing sector added 750,000 jobs to the economy in 23 months of Biden’s administration. 

(Fact Check)

Although we live in a digital era, manufacturing is one of the jobs with the most growth over the last years, setting new quarterly records. That said, manufacturing accounted for 11.3% of the total GDP in 2019.

Due to the pandemic, during Trump’s four years, the economy lost 182,000 manufacturing jobs.

As of December 2022, the U.S. added 750,000 manufacturing jobs during Biden’s time, a 6.2% increase in 23 months, according to BLS. This figure is  149,000, or 1.2% above the number of manufacturing jobs in February 2020, before the pandemic forced plant closures and layoffs. 

15. Employment in computer and information technology is projected to rise by 13% between 2020 and 2030.  

(Bureau of Labor Statistics)

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the technology industry is growing faster than average. As a result, we can agree that computer and information technology were among the fastest-growing jobs by 2020. Moreover, this industry will create up to 667,600 new jobs by 2030.

16. By 2029, STEM occupations will grow by 8%.

(Bureau of Labor Statistics)

STEM, also known as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, is forecast to grow twice as fast as any other occupation over the 2019–2029 decade. Consequently, STEM job growth statistics show that professions in this field will grow by 8%. By contrast, other sectors will only grow by 3.7%.

17. According to BLS, a motion picture projectionist will be the fastest-growing occupation by 2030. 

(Bureau of Labor Statistics)

The Bureau of Labor Statistics determines the number of people working in a specific occupation. Job growth by careers is measured every decade. In this regard, the motion picture projectionist job is expected to increase by 70% during 2020–2030. The second fastest-growing occupation is wind turbine technician, which is expected to grow by 68% during the same period. 

Job Growth Statistics by State

18. Texas employment is expected to generate up to 1.7 million jobs by 2028.

(Texas Workforce Report

In April 2020, the unemployment rate reached 13.5% due to the global pandemic. However, the figure drastically dropped to 8% in June 2020.

On the bright side, the Texas economy will be steady for the next decade, as employment is projected to grow by 1.7 million jobs by 2028. According to Texas job growth statistics, the country will benefit from persistent training and the availability of a skilled workforce. Out of the 1.7 million created by 2028, more than 40% will need academic education and training. 

19. In Minnesota, jobs will rise by 130,000 in the next two years.

(Minnesota Employment Review

In 2024, Minnesota will reach more than 3.1 million jobs by adding 130,000 occupations. Minnesota job growth statistics show that the estimated employment growth is around 40% higher than in the previous decade.

Nevertheless, the slow labor force growth will restrict the local economy because of the baby boomers’ retirement.

20. In February 2023, Wisconsin’s unemployment rate has reduced to 2.7%.

(Ycharts)

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate in December 2020 was worse than the 5.3% registered in November. Yet, Wisconsin job growth statistics prove that job creation was way better than the US unemployment rate, at 6.7% in November 2020.

However, the unemployment rate in Wisconsin has significantly reduced from 5.5% in 2020 to 2.7% as of February 2023.

21. The unemployment rate in Washington decreased from 8.5% in 2020 to 4.6% as of February 2023.

(ESDWAGOV)

The coronavirus outbreak affected employment significantly. According to the Washington state job growth statistics, unemployment increased by 4.4% in 2020 from 4.1% in 2019.

However, the unemployment rate in Washington has significantly decreased from 8.5% in 2020 to 4.6% as of February 2023. 

Job Growth by Year | The Takeaway

As we can observe from these statistics, job growth indicates the economy’s current health. The number of new jobs can show if the economy is improving or failing. 

On the downside, these numbers are projections calculated every decade. Therefore, unexpected events, such as recessions, natural disasters, pandemics, or wars, aren’t considered. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic shook up the worldwide job growth for 2021, causing drastic changes to the global economy.