Generally speaking, the January jobs report is good news. The US economy continued to add jobs and wages went up slightly. These indicate that the economy is continuing to grow, however that growth may be slowing. While there are several indicators that suggest the economy might be slowing, the general feel is that the US is nearing full-employment.

While this is obviously a good thing for the economy, it means that finding talent is going to be harder than ever for employers and recruiters. One might expect the number of passive job seekers to increase as well and employers will need to find new tactics to find, qualify, and attract the best talent.

RELATED: How to Find More Passive Job Candidates

In case the Super Bowl is dull (Go Panthers!), here are some good talking points for you:

Another Month of Job Growth! Take That Recession!

1. The US added 151,000 jobs in January.
2. The manufacturing sector added 29,000 jobs in January.
3. Despite cold January temperatures across many parts of the US, the construction industry added 18,000 jobs last month.
4. Unlike revisions for October and November, which increased the number of jobs added to the economy, the Labor Department revised December’s additions down slightly.
5. Retail trade added 58,000 jobs in January, suggesting that December’s increase may not have been predominantly caused by seasonal holiday hiring.
6. Healthcare continued to add jobs, nearing half a million jobs added in just the last 12 months.
7. Since the beginning of 2010, the US has added 14 million jobs, many in professional and business services and construction.

Unemployment Keeps Getting Lower

8. Unemployment is at an 8 year low at 4.9%!
9. This is the first time since February 2008 that the unemployment rate fell below 5%.
10. In the last 12 months, the number of unemployed Americans has decreased by over 1 million people.
11. An unemployment rate under 5% is one of the indicators that tells economists the US is nearly at ‘full employment’.
12. Bad news for high school drop outs: for those without a high school diploma, unemployment increased to 7.4% in January.

Hourly Wages Feel Slight Bump

13. Average hourly earnings rose .5%, meaning overall wages have gone up 2.5% in the past year.
14. This is the best month over month increase since January 2015.
15. The average hourly earnings for private non-farm employees increased 12 cents to $25.39 an hour.

If you would like to read more on this, check out the Jobs Report Summary or here, here, and here.