>>By the Numbers: June 1, 2018

By the Numbers: June 1, 2018

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Summer Hiring is Up

A survey from Snag finds that 46% of employers are increasing pay as competition for summer help is tight. 74% are planning on offering $11 an hour while only 53% of employers last year were doing so. 95% are adding more shifts to these season jobs – other tactics to lure candidates are full-time offerings as well as healthcare and paid time off.

Hiring in Austin, TX Continues to See Double Digits

Hiring jumped 22% in Austin in April from a year earlier, marking the third month in a row that the city has seen growth of 21% or more. The top 5 most scarce skills in Austin are comprised of Healthcare, Finance, and HR functions.

Airlines in Severe Need of Pilots

The demand for pilots is so severe that airlines are poaching instructors at flight schools in order to fill their open roles. Doing so is negatively impacting the pipeline that is supposed to supply new pilots for this very demand. A report from the Government Accountability Office states that many flight schools have had to scale back and turn away students due to a shortage of instructors.

Collaborating Among Employees Increases Productivity

A survey from Braidio found that 48% of office workers found that ‘peer collaboration is their preferred method of learning in the workplace’ while 81% stated it also helped productivity.

Labor Market to Continue Needing Tech Skills

A report from McKinssey Global Institute predicts that the demand for tech skills will increase over 55% over the next two decades. Leadership and managerial skills will also increase by 24%.  Cognitive skills (data input and processing) and physical skills (equipment operation) are predicted to decline…in some industries, such as Healthcare, they could increase.

Branding a Top Priority for Employers

A report from the Blu Ivy Group found that 58% of employers are looking to create a brand strategy focused on improving employee engagement and experience. Half of the respondents also stated that they had a ‘social employer brand crisis’ within the last year.

Recruiters Applying AI to Increase Productivity

A report from Hunt Scanlon Media found that as the executive search industry in the U.S. continues to grow with the top 50 currently bring in $3 billion annually, AI is becoming more of a serious solution for recruiters. AI technology can make it possible for recruiters to sort through data more quickly – and give them a leg up against their competition.

Walmart Helps Send Employees to College

Employees that have worked for Walmart for at least 90 days in stores – whether they are full-time, part-time, or salaried – are now eligible for financial and academic assistance to earn an Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree.

Millennials and Younger Workers Don’t Think They are Paid Fairly

A study from Comparably found that 48% of millennials aged 26-30 felt they were being fairly paid – 50% of millennials aged 31-35 thought the same. For Generation Z, 54% felt they were being fairly paid. 27% of Gen Z respondents stated their top priority if they were the boss would be to increase pay.

Wellness Programs Only Need One Training

Research from Tufts University found that a 2.5 day ‘well-being intervention’ lifted the energy levels of employees for six months. Researchers of the study stated that this was the first study to ‘show that an intervention can improve employees’ physical and mental well-being for a considerable amount of time.’

Most Workers Open to New Job Opportunities

A study from Jobvite found that 82% of employees are ‘continuously looking for opportunities elsewhere’ while 40% state they assume they will have about 4-6 jobs throughout their career.

Candidate Experience a Must-Have for Recruiters

A survey from Montage finds that the candidate’s experience tops the list of wants from talent acquisition leaders. 46% of respondents also stated that they were considering using AI for recruitment automation and 51% stated they were ‘confident about using machine learning in their hiring decisions’. A whopping 60% of recruiter respondents have already started to consider using technology for their recruiting processes and 65% ‘agreed that predictive technologies will impact their recruiting strategies’.

Automation to Heavily Impact Employment

A report from Axios predicts that automation will largely affect how U.S. companies recruit, hire, and train. In Indianapolis, 338K jobs are at risk – which amounts to 35% of the workforce in the area.  Another 650K and 40K in Northeastern Ohio are in the same boat. Officials in these areas are taking a closer look as to the jobs that will be affected most and skills that will be most in demand.

Walmart Starts ‘Returnship’ Program

Two of Walmart’s California offices will introduce a ‘return-to-work’ program for those that have had a long break due to child caregiving. The project will focus on training workers in software engineering, product development, and other areas.

Employees Ready to Embrace Robot Co-Workers

A survey from Epicor Software Corporation found that 54% of respondents stated that robotic workers would simply take over repetitive and mundane tasks, and they welcome the help.

Midsize Companies to Get Help Competing Against the Big Guys

Randstad Sourceright finds that integrated managed services programs are helping midsize companies when trying to compete for talent against big employers. These MSPs often have resources, such as talent analytics, that any midsize companies don’t have access to.

Outdated Payroll Systems a Headache for Many Employers

American Payroll Association and Kronos found in their recent survey that about 50% of employers aren’t tracking KPIs in payroll as their current payroll processes and systems don’t have the capacity. The Evolution of Payroll Technology Trendline Survey found that 29% of those polled use payroll systems that are more than a decade old. 10% use a system that is less than a year old and 27% use one that is less than 3 years old. The study also found that progressive payroll departments also track employee experience, such as the average response time to employee requests.

Baby Boomers and Millennials Makeup Much of Workforce

EBRI finds in a recent report that the last of the Baby Boomers reaching their mid-50s are living longer and working to later stages in life. Workers between the ages of 25-34 will continue to increase as more Boomers retire.

Most Employees Don’t Have Cybersecurity Training

47% of employees don’t acknowledge their employer’s cybersecurity policy according to a report from Clutch. 67% of those surveyed stated they mainly interact with their employer’s security policies when required to update their password.

CEO Compensation Up More Than in a Decade

The annual CEO Compensation Study by Korn Ferry reports that the CEOs at the largest U.S. companies have had the highest compensation increases since 2010. ‘Median total direct compensation for CEOs increased 8.7% to $13.4 million, which is double of last year’s increase.

Beige Book Reports that Hiring for Roles Continues to be Difficult

“Employment rose at a modest-to-moderate rate across most districts in late April and early May, according to the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book report released Wednesday. The Beige Book, a collection of observations from the 12 federal regional banks, provides a snapshot of current economic conditions.

Labor market conditions remained tight nationwide, and contacts continued to report difficulty filling positions across skill levels. Shortages of qualified workers were reported in various specialized trades and occupations, including truck drivers, sales personnel, carpenters, electricians, painters and IT professionals.”

Jobless Claims Average Up, Initial Claims Fall 13K

“The US four-week moving average of initial claims for unemployment insurance rose 222,250 last week, up 2,500 from the previous week’s unrevised average, the US Department of Labor reported.

The four-week moving average decreases the volatility of the weekly numbers. Total initial claims for unemployment insurance for the week ended May 26 fell to 221,000, down 13,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level.

Claims-taking procedures in Puerto Rico and in the Virgin Islands still have not returned to normal.”

Private Sector in U.S. Adds 178K Jobs in May

“U.S. private sector employment rose by 178,000 jobs in May from April as finding workers becomes increasingly difficult, according to the ADP National Employment Report. April’s gain was revised downward to 163,000 from the initially reported 204,000.

“The hot job market has cooled slightly as the labor market continues to tighten,” said Ahu Yildirmaz, VP and co-head of the ADP Research Institute. “Healthcare and professional services remain a model of consistency and continue to serve as the main drivers of growth in the services sector and the broader labor market as well.””

Nashville Area Posts Lowest Jobless Rate in April Among Large U.S. Metros

“The Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin metropolitan area in Tennessee posted the lowest unemployment rate among all large, US metropolitan areas in April at 2.2%, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics announced today.

The highest jobless rate among large metropolitan areas in December was posted by the Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls area in New York, at 5.1%.”

Consumer Confidence Improves in May, Jobs Outlook Mixed

“The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index increased in May, following a modest decline in April. The index rose to a reading of 128.0 (1985=100) from 125.6 in April.

“Consumers’ assessment of current conditions increased to a 17-year high (March 2001, 167.5), suggesting that the level of economic growth in Q2 is likely to have improved from Q1,” said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board. “Consumers’ short-term expectations improved modestly, suggesting that the pace of growth over the coming months is not likely to gain any significant momentum. Overall, confidence levels remain at historically strong levels and should continue to support solid consumer spending in the near-term.”

Consumers’ outlook for the labor market was mixed. The proportion expecting more jobs in the months ahead increased to 19.7% from 18.6%, while those anticipating fewer jobs also increased to 13.9% from 13.2%.

The number of consumers stating that jobs were “plentiful” increased to 42.4% in April from 38.2% in April, while those claiming jobs are “hard to get” also increased to 15.8% from 15.5%.”

Puerto Rico Gaining Attention for Much-Needed Seasonal Workers

Areas needing to hire seasonal workers for tourist locations to support summer vacationers are turning to Puerto Rico. Due to Hurricane Maria, areas of Puerto Rico are still severely damaged, so workers are looking elsewhere – as well, they don’t require H-1B visas.

Robots Beginning to Impact Farm Industry

With John Deere acquiring startup Blue River, it’s yet another sign that those in agriculture are embracing the latest in technology to automate processes. Companies in the agrochemical space are looking for companies to acquire with similar technologies as Blue River, which will outfit John Deere with such tools are weed targeters.

Digital Systems Tracking Worker Time…But Not Worker Pay

A study by Elizabeth Tippett, associate professor at the University of Oregon School of Law, finds that employers are using digital time trackers to chip away at ‘wage theft’ by not accurately paying workers for time worked. This seems to mainly affect workers in healthcare, drivers, food-service, and factory roles. According to the report, wage theft could account for more than $15 billion each in the U.S.

By |2018-06-01T01:20:45+00:00June 1st, 2018|Categories: Talent Acquisition Trends|Comments Off on By the Numbers: June 1, 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.