How 10.6 Million HIRE Act Hires Transformed 2010 Private Payrolls, Led by Construction Demands and Revised Calculations

How many unemployed Americans found jobs under this law?

From February to October of 2010, an estimated 10.6 million workers (specifically 10,592,020) who had been unemployed for eight weeks or longer were hired by private-sector employers eligible for the HIRE Act payroll tax exemption .

These newly hired workers represented 11.6 percent—or approximately one in eight—of all Americans who had been out of work for eight weeks or longer since the law went into effect .

Which industries hired the most out-of-work people?

According to the Treasury Department’s report, the construction industry hired the largest share of HIRE Act exemption-eligible newly hired workers nationwide, accounting for 14.9% of all eligible hires .

The other major employing industries that hired the highest shares of these out-of-work individuals were:

Leisure and hospitality: 14.5%

Retail trade: 13.3%

Professional and business services: 13.1%

Educational and health services: 10.6%

Manufacturing: 10.6%

Together, these sectors drove the vast majority of the estimated 10.6 million eligible new hires across the country .

Which states saw the biggest boost in new hires?

California saw the absolute largest boost in new hires potentially qualifying for the HIRE Act tax exemption, recording 1,456,066 eligible hires .

The top ten states that experienced the largest volume of qualifying private-sector hires between February and October of 2010 are:

California — 1,456,066 hires

Texas — 733,475 hires

New York — 659,893 hires

Florida — 556,837 hires

Illinois — 511,317 hires

Pennsylvania — 443,688 hires (listed as 443,668 in Table 6)

Ohio — 412,030 hires

Michigan — 364,603 hires

North Carolina — 315,115 hires

Indiana — 306,357 hires

These ten states combined to drive a highly significant portion of the nation’s overall estimated 10.6 million exemption-eligible hires .

Why did men represent over two-thirds of all HIRE Act jobs?

According to the Treasury Department’s report, there are two primary factors shown in the data that explain why men represented over two-thirds (67.9%) of all HIRE Act-eligible new hires :

A larger pool of unemployed men: Men made up a disproportionate share of the overall unemployed population during this period. From February to October 2010, men represented 57.7% of all unemployed workers, compared to women who made up 42.3% .

Dominance of sector-specific hiring: The industries that accounted for the largest shares of HIRE Act hires are historically male-dominated sectors . Specifically:

Construction was both the largest former industry (18.5%) and the largest new employing industry (14.9%) for exemption-eligible hires . In fact, about one-fifth of newly hired exemption-eligible workers previously worked in construction .

Manufacturing also represented a significant share, accounting for 11.4% of the former industry of all unemployed workers and 10.6% of the new jobs found under the HIRE Act .

Together, the combination of a larger initial pool of unemployed men and the fact that the HIRE Act’s strongest hiring and transition activity occurred in sectors like construction and manufacturing drove the high share of male hires.

How did struggling construction firms lead the nation in new hires?

Struggling construction firms were able to lead the nation in new hires under the HIRE Act by capitalizing on a vast, pre-existing pool of unemployed sector workers and utilizing the law’s targeted tax incentives .

The report highlights several key factors behind this trend:

A Massive Available Labor Pool: The construction sector was heavily impacted by the economic downturn, leaving a massive number of specialized workers unemployed. Nationwide, 18.5% of all HIRE Act-eligible individuals (who had been out of work for eight weeks or more) had previously worked in the construction industry .

Highest Share of New Hires: Construction firms took advantage of the tax exemptions and retention credits to hire 14.9% of all eligible new workers nationwide, making construction the single largest employing industry under the law .

Rehiring Experienced Workers: A significant portion of this hiring involved bringing back experienced workers who had lost their jobs in the same field. Approximately one-fifth (20%) of all newly hired, exemption-eligible workers nationwide had previously been employed in construction .

Consistent Across All Regions: This sector-led hiring was a nationwide phenomenon. Construction represented a dominant share of both the former industry of unemployed workers and the new hiring industry across the Northeast, Midwest, South, and West regions .

This combination of a highly concentrated pool of experienced, out-of-work sector laborers and active hiring by firms seeking tax relief drove the construction industry to lead the nation’s hiring recovery under the law .

How did excluding the self-employed fundamentally alter the government’s estimates?

Beginning with the August 2010 report, the Treasury Department altered its methodology by excluding both incorporated and unincorporated self-employed individuals from its estimated count of HIRE Act-eligible hires . Previously, the government only excluded unincorporated self-employed individuals while continuing to count incorporated self-employed workers in its eligibility estimates . By making this adjustment, the government refined its definition of “exemption-eligible jobs” to strictly include only private, non-self-employed positions . This shift fundamentally altered the estimates by narrowing the criteria, ensuring that transitions into self-employment were no longer counted toward the total number of newly hired employees who could potentially qualify for the employer tax exemption .

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Source institutions：U.S. Department of the Treasury

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