Careers

ending a thank you note after a job interview is standard practice. In other professional situations, expressing gratitude is less clear.

After 10 years of lackluster growth, wages finally broke the 3 percent ceiling in August 2018 and have done so every month since. With workers quitting to pursue better opportunities, employers have finally had to offer raises to remain competitive.

Clichéd responses run rampant in interviews. David Waring, co-founder of Fit Small Business, a website that provides small business reviews and recommendations, says job seekers who respond with clichéd answers to basic questions are most annoying.

Just three years ago, the Labor Department estimated that manufacturing would lose jobs at a rate of 0.6 percent per year between 2016 and 2026, largely due to automation and trade penetration. But U.S. manufacturing employment defied predictions in 2018, growing by 2.3 percent — faster than average job growth overall of 1.8 percent.