Ask Americans looking for jobs what they think of the state of the US labour market and the dire news in official data on Friday will not have come as a surprise.

At an employment fair sponsored by Women for Hire in New York City last week – which allowed in men, such was the demand – more than 5,000 job-hunters waited in freezing temperatures for the chance to apply for 1,000 vacancies. “It’s very difficult to get in anywhere,” said Henryka Sak, who is from New Jersey and has a master’s degree in public administration. “I can’t find an entry level position.”