Current Hiring Trends for 2020

Based on recent studies, these are the latest trends in the hiring world. The good news: things are looking up for job seekers.

• Of U.S. employers, 63% have indicated that they will be hiring full-time, permanent workers starting in the second half of 2018.
• The Labor Department reported a record high of 6.6 million job openings earlier this year, an all-time high affecting 50% of U.S. employers.
• Talent shortage is a real issue in the current market. Almost three quarters (72.8%) of employers are having a difficult time finding skilled candidates and 45% of employers are concerned about finding employees with the necessary talents.
• Hiring is expected to become more competitive in the next 12 months for 74% of recruiters.
• By the end of 2018, 45% of employers will raise starting salaries on new job offers.
• A limited supply of skilled workers means that 56% of U.S. companies will offer signing bonuses to new hires from business school.
• Employers are open to added incentives. As many as 31% of employers say they will give employee discounts, 25% will offer the ability to work remotely, 22% will allow extra paid time off, and 21% of employers will grant a sign-on bonus when recruiting candidates.
• Employer response time is what 69% of candidates would most like to see improved. It’s a good idea to ask up front so as not to wait anxiously in the following few days, especially if the average response time is a couple of weeks.
• Alternative work options are more prevalent as the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 55 million people, more than 35% of the U.S. workforce, are “gig workers.” That number is projected to jump to 43% by 2020.
• Certain fields are in high demand. For example, more than 5 million jobs in information technology are expected to be added globally by 2027.
• The demand for tech jobs continues to trend upwards as software developers, statisticians, and mathematician occupations are predicted to grow by 30%, 33%, and 29% respectively in the next decade.
• If you’re just starting out, you will be in good company. It is expected that 50% of the U.S. workforce will be millennials by 2020.

Recruitment Statistics Impacting 2019

There are a lot of opportunities in the current job market and you should take advantage of this good fortune. Some recruitment statistics that might come in handy to help you stand out during the recruitment process are:

• Successful placement is important to a recruiter, so be prepared to impress them. A total of 31% of recruiters list the quality of the hire as the measurement of their success, while 23% of recruiters consider the retention rate as their primary measurement. One- to three-business days are dedicated to training prospective hires by 39% of recruiters in order to improve the retention rate.
• Be reasonable with your hiring timeframe. It takes an average of 27 working days to acquire a new hire.
• The competition is tough right now for recruiters, so you have some leverage. Of recruiters, 45% are having difficulty filling positions due to a shortage of talent.
• Keep your social media site kosher. Social media sites are becoming a common recruitment tool: at least 84% of organizations are currently using social media for recruitment and 9% of those who don’t use it yet are planning to.
• Recruiters aren’t as fussy as they were before. Requirements for strong conversational skills and enthusiasm have declined by more than 20% among recruiters.
• Choose your references wisely. References are being used as a screening method by eight out of 10 recruiters.
• Don’t be intimidated by a lack of experience. A four-year college degree makes an entry-level candidate competitive in the job market according to 87% of recruiters.
• Brush up your interview skills and research alternative interviewing styles. Video technology is being used by 60% of hiring managers and recruiters. A survey of 506 companies showed 47% use video interviewing to shorten the hiring timeframe, and 22% would consider it for interviewing candidates that aren’t local.
• Don’t settle too quickly. Through recruiter negotiations, 68% of businesses “have increased the average salary offer for candidates in the last year.”
• A signed offer is not the end-all. Amazingly, 75% of recruiters have experienced a candidate “change their mind.” In 53% of the cases, it was because they received a better offer.
• If at first you don’t succeed, don’t be discouraged. Reportedly, 77% of recruiters go back and hire someone who didn’t appear to be a fit initially.

Employer Branding in Recruitment

When searching for your perfect job, it is important to use all the resources available. In this next section, we’ll give you tips from recruiting statistics on employer branding to help you determine if the company is the right fit for you.

• Take the time to peruse consumer websites for any company reviews. According to 91% of employers, job-candidate experience can influence consumer purchasing decisions.
• A poor candidate experience would make 60% of job seekers less likely to purchase the employer’s product.
• Employees are three-times more likely to be a trusted source of information compared to the employer.
• Of Glassdoor reviews about the hiring process, 55% of job seekers who read a negative review decided against applying to that company. Remember to take all reviews with a grain of salt since all experiences are not created equal.
• According to 47% of recruiters, employers grow their brand through social media, 21% of recruiters find investing in a company career website grows the company’s brand, and 12% of recruiters attribute the growth to marketing and advertising.
• Social media is used by 59% of candidates to research the companies in which they are interested.

Talent Mobility Hiring

The workforce and global markets are quickly changing, so keep your options open. Here are some hiring statistics to introduce you to the possibilities in talent mobility.

• A significant majority, 80% to be specific, of millennials want to work abroad.
• Review the company’s workplace flexibility. Some 67% of small businesses offer flexible work arrangements and 73% of employees said flexible work arrangements improved their work satisfaction.
• According to 83% of respondents of surveyed, organizations are “shifting to flexible, open-career models that offer enriching assignments, projects, and experiences rather than static career progression.”
• A full 81% of organizations that actively participate in talent mobilization have a revenue growth on or above target, compared to 68% of other organizations.
• Global mobility assignments have increased by 25% and the prediction is that the number of mobile employees will increase 50% by 2020.
• As many as 21% of business leaders feel that global mobility is a priority for attracting and retaining top talent. Mobility strategies are used by 41% of employers to actively recruit candidates from outside the organization.
• Only 23% of companies report having a specific process in place that incorporates formal career planning from entry to the point of accepting an international assignment. Also be aware that only 61% of employers communicate the importance that a mobile assignment will have on the employee’s career.

Diversity in Hiring

• Diversity and inclusion are considered the important issues for 69% of executives. They recognize that the organizational and individual benefits of a positive, “inclusive” experience can lead to strong performance throughout the organization.
• Companies are considering diversity hiring more now than ever, as it has been shown that “companies in the top quartile for gender diversity are 15% more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians.”
• The hiring bias is getting better. Career International states in their Global Recruiting Trends report that “78% of recruiters and hiring managers say that diversity is the top trend impacting how they hire.” However, The Recruiter Nation Study found that only 30% of recruiters have specific goals and policies in place that cater to racial and gender diversity hiring. Implicit bias is a real problem in the American workforce, according to 60% of recruiters.
• A full 66% of companies have strategies for diversity hiring, but only 25% set gender diversity targets.
• One of the top trends to shape the recruitment industry in the next few years will be that 37% of recruiters plan to actively engage with more diverse candidates.
• Recruiters are focused on diversity, with 57% of them saying their strategies are designed to attract diverse candidates.
• Companies should be motivated to diversify. An MGI study shows that a specific “best-in- region scenario” could earn more than $12 trillion or 11% of their annual GDP by gender diversification.