Hiring Boom Predicted for Second Half of 2017
July 17, 2017 – Are you one of the 27 percent of workers who plan to change jobs in the back half of the year? The odds of landing one – and getting paid more – are in your favor, according to the 2017 midyear job forecast just released from CareerBuilder.
The nationwide study revealed that 60 percent of companies are hiring full-time, part-time and temporary or contract workers from July 1st through December 31st, up from 50 percent last year. Thirty-six percent of employers plan to hire part-time, permanent employees, up from 29, and 46 percent plan to hire temporary or contract workers, up from 32 percent last year.
“Events dominating national headlines have had a polarizing effect in the U.S., but most employers remain confident in their outlook for financial growth and plans for hiring,” said Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder. “Job seekers stand to benefit not only from having more options, but also from the growing intensity in the competition for talent.”
“Employers are moving quickly to recruit candidates and they are willing to pay more across job levels,” he said. “They are also placing a greater emphasis on candidates having a positive experience when they apply to their firms. The current climate puts job seekers in a more advantageous position.”
What Are the Hot Areas for Hiring?
Information technology (72 percent) leads all industries in planning to hire in the back half of the year, coming in 12 percentage points higher than the national average for plans to add full-time, permanent headcount. Manufacturing (66 percent), healthcare (64 percent) and financial services (62 percent) are also expected to outperform the national average.
Looking across industries, some of the most in-demand roles employers said they will be recruiting for during this timeframe are those tied to these areas: skilled trades – 15 percent; software as a service – 14 percent; cybersecurity – 13 percent; sales enablement – 13 percent; talent management – 13 percent; providing a good user experience – 12 percent; managing and interpreting Big Data – 11 percent; creating digital strategies – 11 percent; social marketing – 10 percent; e-commerce – 10 percent; developing apps – 10 percent; and healthy living – nine percent.
Summer Hiring In Full Throttle
The summer job market is upon us and with good news: Companies are stepping up their seasonal hiring. Forty-one percent of employers plan to hire workers for the summer, a significant jump from 29 percent last year.
Where Are the New Jobs?
All regions are showing a year-over-year gain in the percentage of employers expecting to hire full-time, permanent employees in the last half of the year. The West leads with 67 percent of employers planning to add headcount, while the South remains on par with the national average. The Northeast and Midwest came in below the national average, but are expecting healthy increases over last year.
Full-time, permanent hiring over the next six months is also expected to increase across company sizes. Midsize businesses are leading the pack in the percentage of employers hiring, while small companies are reporting the biggest year-over-year growth.
- 50 or fewer employees – 37 percent hiring, up from 27 percent last year
- 51 to 250 employees – 67 percent hiring, up from 53 percent last year
- 251 to 500 employees – 72 percent hiring, up from 64 percent last year
- 501 to 1,000 employees – 75 percent hiring, up from 69 percent last year
- 1,001 or more employees – 67 percent hiring, up from 61 percent last year
Pay Increases Coming
Among all employers (hiring managers and human resources managers), 53 percent said they plan to offer higher starting salaries for new employees over the next six months, said CareerBuilder, a big jump from 39 percent in the same period last year. Nearly one third (32 percent) plan to increase starting salaries on job-offers by five percent or more. Two-thirds of employers (66 percent) plan to increase compensation for current employees before year end and 34 percent anticipate an increase of five percent or more.
Looking at a subset of human resources managers, 72 percent said they have to start paying higher wages because the market has become increasingly competitive for talent. The majority said this also applies to entry-level workers:
- 24 percent said they have to pay more even if the entry-level worker has no college or training;
- 17 percent said they have to pay more, but only if the entry-level worker has a college degree;
- 19 percent said they have to pay more, but only if the entry-level worker has at least some college or training.
Unemployment Rate Falls to 16-Year Low
Employers added 138,000 jobs last May as the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 4.3 percent, the lowest since 2001. During the month, the number of workers unemployed dropped to 6.9 million marking the 78th straight month of job growth. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls increasing by 185,000 jobs last month.
Employees Looking for Greener Pastures
Other recent reports also show growth in wages. The 2017 Emerging Workforce Study (EWS), commissioned by Spherion Staffing, found that one in four workers (25 percent) plan to look for a new job sometime in the next three months, with more than one-third (35 percent) planning to do so sometime in the next year.
With an improved economy and overall job market, especially within the specialized industrial and technology fields, workers believe they have more options – and therefore the ability to demand a higher salary either from their current employer or a competitor, said the Spherion report. Twenty percent cited compensation as the primary reason they plan to explore their professional options, more than any other employment factor. Likewise, 35 percent of workers said that although they accepted a lower salary when they started their current role, they should be paid more today.
“In the 20-year history of the Emerging Workforce Study, we’ve never seen employees have this much leverage to improve their situation and fulfill their demands for better salaries and working conditions,” said Sandy Mazur, Spherion division president. “This year’s study reinforces the need for employers to reevaluate their retention strategies and take a closer look at the factors – both financial and non-financial – that influence their workers’ professional decisions. While not all businesses will have the flexibility to raise wages right away, our data indicates that there are a range of alternative measures that may prevent an employee exodus.”
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor; and Will Schatz, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media