by Calculated Risk on 12/31/2014 11:28:00 AM

Earlier I posted some questions for next year: Ten Economic Questions for 2015. I'm adding some thoughts, and a few predictions for each question. Here is a review of the Ten Economic Questions for 2014.

2) Employment:  With one month to go, 2014 is already the best year for employment growth since the '90s.   Will 2015 be as strong?  Or will job creation slow in 2015?

There are some positives for employment heading into 2015. Economic activity has clearly picked up in the US, and there is solid momentum heading into the new year. The decline in oil prices will give a boost to many sectors, construction activity (non-energy related) should increase, and the pace of public hiring will probably increase in 2015.

There are also some negatives. The decline in oil prices will lead to layoffs in the energy sector and have a ripple effect in some communities. The strong dollar will probably impact exporters, and the lower unemployment rate will mean some companies will have difficulty finding qualified candidates.

I've seen estimates of around 50,000 layoffs in the energy sector related to lower oil prices.  There will be a ripple effect too that will probably double that number of job losses (businesses in oil producing areas will also lose employees).

Note: Those expecting 300+ thousand jobs per month in 2015 will probably be disappointed.  Too many people compare to the '80s and '90s, without thinking about changing demographics. The prime working age population (25 to 54 years old) was growing 2.2% per year in the '80s, and 1.3% per year in the '90s.  The prime working age population has actually declined slightly this decade.  Note: The prime working age population is now growing slowly again, and growth will pick up the '20s.

For review, here is a table of the annual change in total nonfarm, private and public sector payrolls jobs since 1997.  For private employment, 2014 was probably the best year since 1997.

Change in Payroll Jobs per Year (000s)
	Total, Nonfarm	Private	Public
1997	3,408	3,213	195
1998	3,003	2,734	313
1999	3,177	2,716	461
2000	1,946	1,682	264
2001	-1,735	-2,286	551
2002	-508	-741	233
2003	105	147	-42
2004	2,033	1,886	147
2005	2,506	2,320	186
2006	2,085	1,876	209
2007	1,140	852	288
2008	-3,576	-3,756	180
2009	-5,087	-5,013	-74
2010	1,058	1,277	-219
2011	2,083	2,400	-317
2012	2,236	2,294	-58
2013	2,331	2,365	-34
20141	2,900	2,810	90
1 2014 is estimated.

In 2014, public employment added to total employment, but at a fairly low level. Public hiring will probably pick up to 150,000+ in 2015.

The second table shows the change in construction payrolls starting in 2006.

	Construction Jobs (000s)
2006	152
2007	-195
2008	-789
2009	-1,047
2010	-192
2011	144
2012	114
2013	156
20141	215

Energy related construction hiring will decline in 2015, but I expect other areas of construction to be solid.

As I mentioned above, in addition to layoffs in the energy sector, exporters will have a difficult year - and more companies will have difficulty finding qualified candidates.  Even with the overall boost from lower oil prices - and some additional public hiring, I expect total jobs added to be lower in 2015 than in 2014.

So my forecast is for gains of about 200,000 to 225,000 payroll jobs per month in 2015.  Lower than 2014, but another solid year for employment gains given current demographics.

Here are the ten questions for 2015 and a few predictions:
• Question #2 for 2015: How many payroll jobs will be added in 2015?
• Question #3 for 2015: What will the unemployment rate be in December 2015?
• Question #4 for 2015: Will too much inflation be a concern in 2015?
• Question #5 for 2015: Will the Fed raise rates in 2015? If so, when?
• Question #6 for 2015: Will real wages increase in 2015?
• Question #7 for 2015: What about oil prices in 2015?
• Question #8 for 2015: How much will Residential Investment increase?
• Question #9 for 2015: What will happen with house prices in 2015?
• Question #10 for 2015: How much will housing inventory increase in 2015?