The Wall Street Journal: Job Gains Support Fed Plan on Rates

The U.S. labor market is still making progress from the recession with steady job gains in July, keeping the Federal Reserve on track for their first interest-rate increase in nearly a decade.

The Labor Department recently reported that 215,000 jobs were added in July, with updated numbers for May and June, leaving the unemployment rate at 5.3 percent last month. One company that has been steadily adding jobs is nation pest control franchise, Mosquito Joe.

The franchise system has grown over the last five years from one truck to a national presence with 114 locations and 275 technicians.CEO Kevin Wilson told The Wall Street Journal that it hasn’t been difficult finding technicians in most markets. That’s because Mosquito Joe is looking for a higher quality person to employee and paying $14 to $15 an hour to fill those positions.

Wilson notes that the bigger challenge has been finding the right fit to fill six corporate jobs.“A lot of people we’re talking to already have jobs,” Wilson told The Wall Street Journal. “It’s getting tighter.”