>>By the Numbers: May 18, 2018

By the Numbers: May 18, 2018

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U.S. Tech Jobs on the Rise, But Facing Lack of Talent

The TechServe Alliance stated that the lack of IT talent contributed to the lack of growth in jobs for the industry. The growth of IT jobs squeaked by with a .05% increase to more than 5.3 million jobs – year over year this is a .96% increase with about 50,700 IT workers added.

“While economic downturns result in slow or negative job growth because of lagging demand, we are seeing anemic job growth in IT because of a lack of supply,” said TechServe Alliance CEO Mark Roberts. “Despite robust demand in many IT skill sets, we simply do not have enough qualified IT professionals.”

California, Hawaii, and Wisconsin Hit Lowest Unemployment in 40 Years

In April, Hawaii took the top spot for lowest unemployment amongst all states in the U.S. at 2% – New Hampshire and North Dakota were right behind at 2.6% (seasonally adjusted basis).  Once again, Alaska had the highest unemployment rate in the U.S. at 7.4%. Record setters California, Hawaii, and Wisconsin saw their lowest unemployment rates since 1976 at 4.2%, 2.0%, and 2.8% respectively. The unemployment rate for the country as a whole dipped down to 3.9%, which is .5 percentage point lower than the year prior.

Companies to Hire More College Grads

Per a CareerBuilder survey, 80% of employers surveyed stated they planned to hire recent college graduates this year, which is up from 74% last year. Conversely, a report by the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that U.S. employers planned to hire 1.3% fewer graduates. The most in-demand grads were business and engineering majors.

Economy Predictions are Positive

The ‘Second Quarter 2018 Survey of Professional Forecasters’ found that the U.S. economy is stronger than it was three months ago. As well, the forecast for the unemployment rate is another decrease to 3.7% in mid-2019.

Entry-Level Salaries Stagnant

A Korn Ferry study finds that 2018 graduates won’t make much more than 2017 graduates – a slight 2.9% increase year over year to a salary of just over $50K can be expected, on average.

Underperformers Impact Everyone

A survey conducted by Robert Half states that managers can spend an entire day a week coaching underperforming employees. Respondents stated that hiring mistakes affect the team morale significantly as 44% said it affects them greatly, 47% said somewhat and 9% said not at all.

Top Reasons Workers Jump Ship

A new Randstad report found that 45% of respondents stated that they have changed jobs in the past year or plan to do so in the coming year. Top reasons for switching jobs were insufficient pay at 44%, limited career paths at 43%, and a lack of challenging work at 30%. Work-life balance and lack of recognition followed close behind at 28% and 27% respectively.

Job Opportunities Increase for College Grads

The Economic Policy Institute reports that after 10 years of poor employment conditions after the 2007 recession, things are looking up for college grads employment-wise. The big issue, though, is the underemployment rate which is currently at 11.1% – higher than it was in 2007.

Walmart and Google Fund Reskilling Solutions

The two companies announced a $5 million grant for organizations that test out reskilling solutions focused on readying workers with future roles. It’s predicted that about one-third of American workers will need to reskill by 2030.

L&D Professionals Have a Bright Future

Per a report from the State of Learning and Development, 73% of L&D professionals believe no training roles will disappear during the next five years. 29% of respondents stated they would adopt new microlearning opportunities and 10% will add virtual reality training.

Employees Still Leaving Vacation Days Unused

While employees are taking more vacation time (half a day more in 2017 than in 2016 for an average of 17.2 vacation days), most are still leaving many vacation days ‘on the table’. According to research from Project: Time Off, around 52% left some unused in 2017 and 24% have avoided vacation time for more than a year. While vacation costs, as well as children and pets, were reasons to not use vacation time, the biggest reason was work-related issues. The study also showed that those who take vacations for trail are promoted more and generally have higher levels of career success.

Millennial Women More Excited About Cybersecurity Than Men

A survey from Enterprise Strategy Group found that female millennials are more likely than male millennials to find a career in cybersecurity exciting – 57% and 40% respectively. The global talent shortage in the industry is predicted to impact almost 2 million unfilled roles by 2020.

Workspace Ambiance Matters

A survey from Clutch found that 47% of employees ‘value a workspace with a community atmosphere’. Millennials aged 18-34 especially felt this way coming in at 55%. Overall, workers want appealing workspaces (61%), flexibility (53%) and perks like free food (47%).

U.S. Economy Solid, but No Acceleration

“The Conference Board’s US Leading Economic Index edged up 0.4% in April to a reading of 109.4 (2016 = 100), following increases of 0.4% in March and 0.7% in February.

April’s increase and continued uptrend in the US Leading Economic Index suggest solid growth should continue in the second half of 2018, according to Ataman Ozyildirim, director of business cycles and growth research at The Conference Board.

“However, the LEI’s six-month growth rate has recently moderated somewhat, suggesting growth is unlikely to strongly accelerate,” Ozyildirim said. “In April, stock prices and housing permits were the only negative contributors, whereas the labor market components, which made negative contributions in March, improved.””

 

By |2018-05-18T19:06:06+00:00May 18th, 2018|Categories: Talent Acquisition Trends|Comments Off on By the Numbers: May 18, 2018

About the Author:

Erin Geiger is a seasoned Content, Editorial, and Product Engagement professional with two decades of experience creating content as well as overall content direction and strategy. Her background stems from a variety of online verticals ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 corporations.