More than a year after COVID put the world in upheaval, statistics indicate that the number of job listings steadily increased through April 2021. With job advertisements averaging more than 59% higher than January and February 2020, the need for new employees is at the highest it’s been since 2018. However, this increased need for employees isn’t being easily filled.
Both Profit and Risk Are Driving Career Dormancy
According to Greenwich.HR CEO, Cary Sparrow, as of April 2021, unemployment claims were at 3.7 million – more than double what it was pre-pandemic. While that number has been slowly declining since the beginning of the year, seemingly people are either unmotivated to find a job or too fearful to seek a new opportunity. Why? Just as the pandemic brought about stimulus checks, those unemployed have been receiving enhanced unemployment benefits, some of which resulted in better pay than actually working.
Conversely, according to a LinkedIn survey, 74% of jobholders were hesitant to look for new/better opportunities during 2020, fearing unforeseen layoffs, thus opting to “shelter in job.” However, as restrictions are continually being lifted because of available vaccines and with stimulus checks putting millions of dollars back into circulation, people are ready to make changes to once again truly experience and enjoy life. This desire carries over to workers who were reluctant to make any changes last year are burnt out and are either ready for a career change or substantial pay increase.
What Brought About the Hiring Boom?
In regards to employers, finding workers, it has been nothing short of challenging. In addition to established employers working diligently to realign their businesses to accommodate the imposed COVID restrictions as well as client demands, newly established businesses have also been urgently seeking employees.
Of course many businesses in the hospitality, transportation, and warehousing industries were forced to close their doors in 2020 and only recently have been able to reopen. Many of these businesses are essentially starting from scratch in the hiring process. As for the newer businesses, most have and still are focusing on hiring people interested in working from home. Needless to say, being fully staffed is vital to doing business.
Forecasting The Hiring Boom
Although this hiring boom poses new challenges for recruiters and employers alike, it’s also a sign of a positive new era. New businesses and jobs being created and existing companies expanding, which should also mean economic growth, as life returns to a state of normalcy for everyone.
While many businesses, out of necessity to survive, were redesigned into a hybrid model consisting of onsite and remote staff members, this model is here to stay, as other brick and mortar businesses follow suit. Virtual hiring (in combination with certain in-person hiring aspects) will be normalized as well.
It’s Time to Advance Your Hiring
Bottom line, there are newer work and hiring strategies that we may have been forced into are undeniably more time and cost efficient. Additionally, for recruiters it opened the doors to access a more diverse talent pool.
The good news is that Greenwich, forecasts that due to the fact that unemployment rates are steadily declining, May and June 2021 should bring new hires to the table, thus closing the current gap.
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Jonathan,
Do you have any data around how many jobs are going unfilled in manufacturing or any specific challenges manufacturing companies are dealing with regarding hiring an hourly workforce, or any specific data on what some manufacturers are doing to fill their needs?
My company is struggling along with several of my colleagues at other organizations.
Thanks,
Shawn
Great Article and it can help anyone to figure out how to make hiring and recruiting processes in 2021 a smooth process. It is really a challenging task of remotely hiring. Leadership challenges is a new thing when covid-19 is affecting a lot of people and remote work is here to stay.