Jobs report says country gained 157,000 jobs in January

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) - The nation's latest jobs report shows slow but steady growth. The economy added 157,000 jobs in January. But with more people entering the job market, the overall unemployment rate ticked up a notch 7.9%.

The nation's retail industry added 33,000 jobs last month. That's one of the economy's biggest gains.

At Target in Bellevue, managers said hiring has been steady since the store's expansion last spring.

"Bringing the groceries in, having the necessities that people need brings more foot traffic in the building which, in turn, makes us have more staff available for them," said Derek Dimmer, Executive Team Lead for Target Human Resources.

The store employs nearly 150 people and managers are looking to hire a handful more.

"We do need one more person for the grocery area," said Dimmer. "We do need one for soft lines as well. So we're hiring for a couple different areas."

In northeast Wisconsin, upwards of 15,000 jobs are currently being advertised According to the Job Center of Wisconsin, the most in-demand occupations are in office and administrative support,

 production and manufacturing and sales.

"I watch this monthly and this is pretty typical in what we have been seeing," explained Jim Golembeski, Executive Director of the Bay Area Workforce Development Board. "Again, in our area, manufacturing is king. So those are the big areas."

Wisconsin's unemployment rate is 6.6%.

Golembeski said the number and type of local job orders has remained constant over the past year. And there's a reason.

"The mismatch between the skills that the job seeker has and the skills that the employer wants continues to be an issue," he added.