US Employment and Labor 2019: A Look Ahead

We’re featuring a series this month called “2019: A Look Ahead” and continue with a look at the current labor markets. 2018 ended with very positive news: the economy added around 2.6 million jobs in 2018, and wages grew by 3.2 percent. The labor participation rate climbed over 63 percent, meaning more people were coming back into the workforce, which also nudged the unemployment rate up a bit to 3.9 percent. As 2019 starts, 20 states and around two dozen cities are raising the minimum wage. However, the country is now feeling the effects of the government shutdown, the current trade war, and a shaky Wall Street. So, what can we expect to see this year? Host Dan Loney is joined by Peter Cappelli, the Director of the Center for Human Resources and Professor of Management at the Wharton school, and Iwan Barankay is an Associate Professor of Management and Associate Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy at Wharton, to discuss their projections for the labor market in 2019 on Knowledge at Wharton.