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In recent months you may have seen articles claiming the Great Resignation may be followed by the Great Regret or the Great Reset. However, these ideas appear to be mere speculation. The most recent report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics in May 2022 continues to show resignations and job openings trending upwards. According to the BLS, “On the last business day of March, the number of job openings was little changed at 11.5 million, the highest level in the history of the series which began in December 2000.” The number of voluntary quits also reached a series high of 4.5 million in March 2022. With only 5.9 million unemployed (at a 3.6 % unemployment rate) and 11.5 million available jobs, it’s clear to see how and why voluntary quits remain at an all-time high.
Many employers are hopeful the state of the job market may change soon; however, it is difficult to argue that these trends will disappear anytime soon. According to the BLS, over the last 12 months, hires have totaled 77.7 million but separations have totaled 71.4 million. While we can see a net gain in employment of 6.3 million, it’s impossible to ignore that for the 77.7 million hired, 91% of that gain was nulled by separations.
Another term you may have heard is the Great Reshuffle. According to CNBC, “Millions of Americans are quitting their jobs and rethinking what they want when it comes to work and work-life balance. Companies are responding, meeting their employees’ needs in areas like remote work, flexible hours, four-day workweeks, compensation and more.”
There is a movement underway and if your company does not meet these new standards, you may be strapped for labor. The majority of employees don’t just want remote opportunities, flexible work-life balance, and competitive salaries, they expect it. We can see from recent job market movement that more and more employees and job seekers are job-hopping or “shuffling” jobs to find their perfect fit. According to Julia Pollak, Chief Economist at ZipRecruiter, “Employers are at a huge disadvantage and are not going to be able to fill all the vacancies they want to fill.”
Many are still in denial of these trends. However, the employers who embrace these trends are those who will have the most success when hiring.
Employers who find themselves successful in this job market are:
Have you experienced the following scenario recently? You’ve found the perfect candidate but they are asking for higher pay, a hybrid work schedule, or more benefits. You take some time to consider their requests and get back to them a week later with a compromise and an offer letter. However, that person replies back that they have already taken another offer! Today's most successful employers are acting quickly and are willing to be flexible in meeting job seeker expectations so they don’t lose those top candidates.
For employers who do not have strong resources for recruitment or much luck in their search, professional and business services have appeared to be the preferred solution. Since February of 2020, employment in professional and business services has increased by 738,000 (one of the highest employment growths in today’s market). We continue to see employers turning to services such as temporary staffing, which has shown a 383,000 increase in employment year over year (April 2022 vs. April 2021). With this much movement in professional and business services, it is clear how much support companies in this industry can provide to employers in today’s market.
Employment in industries such as leisure and hospitality (+78,000), manufacturing (+55,000), transportation and warehousing (+52,000), and professional and business services (+41,000) accounted for much of the overall 428,000 employment gain in April of 2022.
Other notable changes occurred in some industries as follows:
JWilliams Staffing is here to help your company navigate the workforce. We have a strong network of job seekers who are ready to work, and expert recruiters who carefully screen, train, and identify the cross-application of skillsets in candidates necessary to excel in their career. Learn more about our temporary and direct hire staffing services today!
Sources:
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2022a, May). JOB OPENINGS AND LABOR TURNOVER – MARCH 2022. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/jolts.pdf
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2022b, May). THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION — APRIL 2022. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf
