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50 recruitment stats HR pros must know in 2017

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With a new year typically comes a desire to improve ourselves at what we do, and HR is no exception. However, learning takes time and it’s no secret that recruiters are busy people. In order to save you time, we’ve compiled a list of top 50 recruitment statistics HR pros must know in 2017, based on research by The Bureau of Labor Statistics, Harvard Business Review, LinkedIn, Glassdoor, Deloitte, MRINetwork, Jobvite, Capterra, Edelman Trust Barometer, NFIB, Future Workplace, Career Arc, PayScale, and Society for Human Resources Management.

In the last few years, tech recruitment landscape has been changing rapidly and keeping up is not easy. Increasing numbers of companies are now employing for tech jobs – even those representing the “more traditional, old economy industries like healthcare, finance and even retail”. As a consequence, demand for top tech talent is higher than before and recruiters are the ones who feel the pressure more than anyone else.

The industry is moving forward and so should you. Luckily, access to data regarding recruitment is now easier than ever, and although HR in tech is becoming more and more difficult due to the scarcity of talent, it’s now become easier to educate yourself about what it takes to find a good employee.

50 recruitment statistics HR pros must know in 2017

1. 86% of recruiters and 62% of employers felt the 2016 labor market was candidate-driven. (Source: MRINetwork)

candidate driven labor market mrinetwork

Image source: MRINetwork

2. It is becoming increasingly difficult to fill positions – 65% of recruiters claim talent shortage is the biggest challenge in hiring. (Source: Jobvite)

jobvite talent shortage 2016

Image source: Jobvite

3. 75% of hiring and talent managers use either applicant tracking or recruiting software to improve their hiring process. (Source: Capterra)

75 percent of HR pros use recruitment software Capterra

Image source: Capterra

4. In 2016, 58% of small businesses reported “hiring or trying to hire” and 52% reported scarcity or lack of qualified applicants for their open positions. (Source: NFIB)

5. Companies prioritize talent engagement because “it creates a pipeline of high-quality talent” (72%). (Source: Beamery)

6. Recruiters are currently experiencing one of the fastest pay growth in the U.S in comparison to other positions. On average, they see a 7.6% increase in payyear over year in November to $50,105 per year”. This comes as no surprise given how difficult it now is to recruit due to low unemployment and high demand for talent, especially in tech. (Source: Glassdoor)

7. Average annual salary increase reached 2.7% per year. Average target bonus was 4.7% for non-executives and 10.2% for executives respectively. (Source: 2016 Human Capital Benchmarking Report, Society for Human Resources Management)

8. Salary is negotiated more than ever by recruiters – 68% of businesses “have increased the average salary offer for candidates in the last year”. (Source: Jobvite)

9. Finding suitable candidates (46%), compensation (43%) and competition (39%) constitute the three biggest obstacles to hiring. (Source: LinkedIn)

10. 38% of companies are thinking about digital HR, and only 9% of them believes they are fully ready for it. 72% of organizations believe digital HR is an important priority and 32% claims it is very important. (Source: Deloitte University Press)

hr automation importance deloitte university press

Image source: Deloitte University Press

11. Spending on cloud HR software is increasing faster than “spending on installed or on-premises HR software”. HR cloud solutions will constitute 50% or more of all HR technology spending by 2017. (Source: Gartner)

12. “Fewer than 20% of companies deploy their HR and employee productivity solutions on mobile apps today”. (Source: Bersin by Deloitte)

13. Mobile technology is used for coaching and performance management by 7% and 10% of companiesrespectively. 21% of businesses use it for leave requests, with a further 8% and 13% employing it for time scheduling and recruiting & candidate management respectively. (Source: Deloitte)

14. Tech/software recruiters are least concerned with automation of HR, with only 9% of them fearing job obsolescence. (Source: Jobvite)

15. 64% of companies only measure employee engagement once a year. (Source: Deloitte University Press)

16. 80% of people would take one job over another based on personal relationships formed during the interview process. (Source: Mattersight)

17. Almost 60% of job seekers report having a poor candidate experience. (Source: Future Workplace & CareerArc study via workplacetrends.com)

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18. Of those 60% who had a poor candidate experience, 72% shared information on it “online on an employer review site, such as Glassdoor, on a social networking site, or directly with a colleague or friend”. (Source: Future Workplace & CareerArc study via workplacetrends.com)

19. Interviews (47%) and online research (36%) are most important in forming opinion of a prospective job. (Source: Jobvite)

forming an opinion on a prospective job jobvite

Image source: Jobvite

20. 74% of the workforce are open to making a job move. (Source: Jobvite)

21. 51% of employers are satisfied but would consider a job move. (Source: Jobvite)

jobvite employee satisfaction stats

Image source: Jobvite

22. “Half of job seekers have searched for a new job while in bed, while 37% reportedly job search from their current workplace”. (Source: Jobvite)

how people look for a job jobvite

Image source: Jobvite

23. 67% of people who found their most recent job on social media used Facebook to do so. (Source: Jobvite)

24. 87% of recruiters use LinkedIn, but only 55% use Facebook. (Source: Jobvite)

25. 72% of candidates state advancement opportunities are the top reason why they would change a job, with better compensation packages (57%) and better company culture coming second and third respectively. (Source: MRINetwork)

mrinetwork factors making people change jobs

Image source: MRINetwork

26. 60% of recruiters believe culture fit is of highest importance when making a decision whether to hire or not. (Source: Jobvite)

27. 49% of employers believe that competitive compensation packages are the most attractive quality to prospective hires, with emphasis on work-life balance (42%) and advancement opportunities (40%) coming second and third respectively. (Source: MRINetwork)

what is attractive to potential hires mrinetwork

Image source: MRINetwork

28. Slower interview processes are gradually increasing time-to-hire. “The interview processes in America have grown by 3.3 to 3.7 days since 2009. Today it stands at 22.9 days on average”. (Source: Glassdoor)

glassdoor interview process length

Image source: Glassdoor

29. It takes on average three interviews and three to six weeks to get an offer. In comparison, it was one to four weeks in the second half of 2015. (Source: MRINetwork)

how long it takes to get an offer mrinetwork

Image source: MRINetwork

30. Accepting another offer (47%) and lower than expected pay (26%) are the two main reasons why offers get rejected. (Source: MRINetwork)

31. 32% of recruiters claim employee retention is their priority in the next 12 months. (Source: LinkedIn)

32. 89% of companies believe leadership is “an important or very important issue” (up from 87% in 2015). 57% of them cite leadership as very important (up from 50% in 2015). (Source:  Deloitte University Press)

deloiite the importance of leadership

Image source:  Deloitte University Press

33. 9.8 million jobs are projected to be added in the U.S. from 2014 to 2024. Software application developers are one of the top 15 occupations to grow the most by 2024, and one of the 4 occupations that got paid the highest annual wages in 2014, with the average wage reaching $95,510.

wage and education chart bureau of labor statistics

 Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

34. The average annual pay for Sr. Software Engineer / Developer / Programmer is $99,194 (Source: PayScale)

35. 82% of professionals state that “culture is a potential competitive advantage”. (Source: Deloitte University Press)

deloitte the importance of company culture map

Image source: Deloitte University Press

Interestingly, more than a half of Deloitte University Press research respondents are attempting to “change their culture in response to shifting talent markets and increased competition”.

36. “Fewer than 12% of companies believe they truly understand their culture”. (Source: Deloitte University Press)

37. There were 1.98 million new jobs between January and November 2016 in the U.S. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)

38. In April 2016, the economy set a new all-time record of 5.85 million unfilled job openings — the highest since The Bureau of Labor Statistics started collecting surveys of open jobs in 2000. (Source: Glassdoor)

39. As of the last business day of October 2016, there were 5,5 million job openings. In comparison to the year before (last business day of October 2015), U.S. labor market saw an increase of 112,000 of job openings. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)

change in job openings by industry bureau of labor statistics

Image source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

40. Newly created positions are the reason why 63% of job openings are created. (Source: MRINetwork)

reasons for job openings mrinetwork

Image source: MRINetwork

41. The ratio of unemployed persons per job opening was 1.4 in October 2016 – down from a shocking 6.6 in July 2007. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics).

number of unemployed people per job bureau of labor statistics

Image source:Bureau of Labor Statistics

42. In November 2016, unemployment rate was pushed to 4.6%, which is approximately what it was in August 2007 before the Great Recession took its toll. (Source: Glassdoor)

unemployment rate glassdoor

Image source: Glassdoor

43. The average job seeker reads at least six reviews in the process of forming an opinion on a company. (Source: Glassdoor)

44. People trust content shared by employees of a company more than that shared by its CEO (55% vs. 49%). (Source: 2016 Edelman Trust Barometer)

edelman trust barometer employee advocacy

Image source: 2016 Edelman Trust Barometer

45. When researching employment opportunities, job seekers expect employers to provide: “1) Salary/compensation, 2) Benefits, 3) Basic company information, 4) What makes it an attractive place to work, 5) Company mission, vision, values”. (Source: Glassdoor)

46. 8 months is the approximate time it takes for a new employee to reach full productivity. (Source: Harvard Business Review)

47. The average cost-per-hire is $4,129. (Source: 2016 Human Capital Benchmarking Report, Society for Human Resources Management)

48. The average time it takes to fill a given position is 42 days. (Source: 2016 Human Capital Benchmarking Report, Society for Human Resources Management)

49. The average employee tenure is 8 years. (Source: 2016 Human Capital Benchmarking Report, Society for Human Resources Management)

employment data SHRM

Image source: 2016 Human Capital Benchmarking Report, Society for Human Resources Management

50. 61% of companies offered tuition reimbursement to their employees, with the average annual maximum reimbursement for that purpose reaching approximately $4,000. (Source: 2016 Human Capital Benchmarking Report, Society for Human Resources Management)

tuition reimbursement chart shrm

Image source: 2016 Human Capital Benchmarking Report, Society for Human Resources Management

51. 84% of executives see learning as an important (40%) or very important (44%) issue. (Source: Deloitte University Press)

importance of learning deloitte

Image source: Deloitte University Press

Conclusion

Throughout 2016, hiring has continued to increase. As the statistics demonstrate, hiring in tech is becoming more difficult, candidates favor companies with strong employer brands and strong company culture. They want to feel inspired, motivated, and continue to educate themselves while they work. Unemployment is low and demand for top talent is sky-high, which means many positions are filled by passive candidates who may be quite tricky to attract.

If your goal is to acquire and RETAIN top talent, use these statistics throughout 2017 and embrace the major trends governing HR this year.

All there’s left to say is “happy (and conscious) hiring”!

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