Bob Marshall’s October 2019 BLS Analysis for Recruiters; 11/1/19
The 8 October BLS Analysis Articles…
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US Workers’ Wages Rose by 3.2% in 3rd Quarter
Daily News, October 24, 2019
US workers’ wages rose by 3.2% year over year in the 3rd quarter, according to the ADP Research Institute’s Workforce Vitality Report. The average was level was $28.71 per hour.
Those switching jobs saw their wages increase 5.1%.
“The labor market has shown signs of a slowdown. After accelerating at the start of 2019, annual employment growth has leveled off to a modest 1.7% in September,” said Ahu Yildirmaz, co-head of the ADP Research Institute. “While job switchers continue to enjoy wage growth of 5.1%, employers appear to have reached the limit of what they are willing to pay workers to entice them to switch jobs.”
Workers in the Midwest saw their wages grow the fastest in the third quarter, up 3.9% year over year, but their average hourly wage was the lowest at $26.76. The West had the highest average hourly wage at $30.83; it was up 3.2%.
Information workers saw their average hour wage rise 2.7% in the third quarter to $41.92. But job switchers in the information industry saw their hourly wages rise by 10.2% — the highest growth among all job switchers.
85% of Recruiters Say Candidates Exaggerate on Résumés
Daily News, October 23, 2019
A global survey of 1,700 recruiters by jobs website Monster found that 71% of recruiters struggle to fill positions because of candidate skills gaps, but 85% agree that candidates exaggerate skills and competencies on their résumés.
Only one-third of recruiters think candidates are honest about their skills through the job hiring process, according to the Monster survey.
Recruiters who are millennials are more likely to say candidates exaggerate skill competencies on their résumés, at 88%, than Gen X recruiters, at 83%.
In another finding in the Monster survey, 40% of recruiters globally said email was the best way to reach Gen Z candidates while 33% said social media was the best method. However, when looking at responses from only recruiters in North America, 38% said text messaging was the most effective way to communicate with Gen Z; the response was 23% for recruiters in Europe.
Tech Skills Matter More Than Soft Skills in Legal Hiring
Daily News, October 16, 2019
In the legal field, hiring decisions are influenced more by candidates’ technical abilities than by the soft skills, according to 62% of legal employers in a survey by Robert Half Legal.
Respondents to the survey included 200 lawyers in the US who work full time at law firms with 20 or more employees or in corporate legal departments at companies with 1,000 or more employees.
The survey asked, “When evaluating professionals for open legal positions, which carries more weight: the candidate’s technical skills or his or her soft or nontechnical skills?”
In their responses, 19% said they place “much greater weight on technical skills” and 43% said they place “somewhat greater weight on technical skills” for the total of 62%.
While 30% were evenly split on the importance of tech skills and soft skills, just 8% placed somewhat greater weight on soft skills and only 1% placed much greater weight on soft skills.
The survey also found that cybersecurity ranked as the top area of tech that candidates need to be versed in with 48% of respondents picking it as a competency that candidates need. It was followed by data analytics, with 43% of respondents citing this as an important area.
Qualified Talent Difficult to Retain, Survey Finds 75.5% Plan to Leave Within 5 Years
Daily News, October 14, 2019
Qualified talent is not only more difficult to recruit, but it’s also more difficult to retain, according to a survey by jobs platform iHire.
More than half of job seekers on its platform, 51.7%, left their jobs voluntarily in the past 5 years, and 75.5% said they planned to stay with their current employer no longer than 5 years.
The survey also found that 35% of employees have searched for a new job while on the clock, while another 7.5% said they preferred not to answer that question.
“Qualified talent has become difficult not only to recruit, but also to retain due to a job market with more open positions than people to fill them,” said Steve Flook, president and CEO of iHire. “The possibility that a more rewarding career opportunity is out there is often too compelling for even the most tenured and loyal employee.”
In terms of job satisfaction, 59.9% were lukewarm, saying they were “somewhat satisfied” or “neither satisfied nor unsatisfied.”
Why are respondents interested in leaving their jobs? The report found 16.9% cited unsatisfactory pay, and 11.7% said few growth opportunities.
The survey included 1,171 active and passive job seekers on iHire’s 56 talent communities. The survey took place in August.
BLS Projects 6 of the 10 Fastest-Growing Occupations will be Healthcare and Social Assistance Related
Amy Chang, SIA, October 9, 2019
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Sept. 4 released updated employment projections for 2018 to 2028. Overall US employment is projected to grow by 5.2%, or 8,400,000 jobs. The healthcare and social assistance sector is expected to make up 40%, or 3,400,000, of the overall increase in employment. The annual 1.6% growth rate is anticipated to be driven mainly by increased demand in healthcare services from an aging population and patients with chronic health conditions.
6 of the 10 fastest-growing occupations from 2018 to 2028 are expected to be healthcare and social assistance related. Within the healthcare sector, home health aide employment is expected to grow the fastest (37%), followed by personal care aides (36%), occupational therapy assistants (33%), physician assistants (31%), nurse practitioners (28%) and speech language pathologists (27%). Registered nurse employment is expected to grow 12% to 3,400,000. Physical therapist employment is expected to increase 22% to 301,900 and physicians and surgeon employment is expected to grow 7% to 812,200.
In September 2019, the overall US unemployment rate was 3.5%, the lowest in a decade. For the third quarter of 2019, the unemployment rate was lower for healthcare practitioners and technical occupations at 1.3% and healthcare support occupations at 3.3%. The unemployment rate was also very low for physicians at 0.4%, registered nurses at 1.1% and physical therapists at 1.0%.
According to the BLS’ projections, employment mix by facility setting will continue to shift away from acute care hospitals towards non-acute care settings. Although hospital employment is expected to grow 6% from 2018 to 2028, the overall mix of healthcare employment is projected to decline from 37% to 34% for hospitals during the timeframe. Additionally, the mix of healthcare employment in other ambulatory healthcare settings is expected to increase from 19% to 20% and increase in the home health setting from 9% to 11% during that period.
SIA published its updated US Staffing Industry Forecast on Sept. 17. The healthcare staffing market is projected to grow 4% to $18,100,000,000 in 2020, driven by continued growth in national health expenditures forecasted by the CMS Office of the Actuary and continued cyclical expansion in the US economy.
73% Check Email after Work Hours: Hays
Daily News, October 10, 2019
Global staffing firm Hays plc reported today that 73% of professionals check their job email outside of work hours, citing data from a survey for more than 2,700 people across the globe.
Of those who check their email after work, the survey found that 54% say they do so in order to keep on top of their jobs, 34% said they wanted to make themselves available in case they are needed; 19% said they find it difficult to switch off from work and another 19% said they feel it is expected of them.
“Working outside of hours too often doesn’t allow employees to switch off from work,” said Sandra Henke, Hays group head of people and culture. “If they fail to strike the right work life balance it could lead employees to feeling tired and less relaxed, even eventually leading to employee burnout.”
Hays also reported that 67% of those who check their emails after work do so once or twice an evening while 22% do so constantly.
Referrals: 78% of Staffing Firms have Bonus Programs for Referring Temporary Workers
Daily News, October 10, 2019
A majority of staffing firms, 78%, offer bonuses for referrals of temporary worker candidates, according to a report by Staffing Industry Analysts.
The research found the median bonus offered by professional staffing firms was $500 while the median offered by commercial staffing firms was less than $100.
A majority of firms also offered bonuses for referrals of direct-hire candidates. These bonuses tended to be larger, with two-thirds of firms offering bonuses of at least $500.
“Staffing firms reported referral fees were earning high returns on investment, so for the minority of staffing firms not yet using them, I’d suggest giving them a shot,” said Jon Osborne, VP strategic research and author of the report. “The data also suggested that optimal bonus amounts vary, as detailed in the report, by skill set and type of placement.”
It’s based on a survey of 441 North American staffing firms.
Nearly Half of Workers Quit a Job Because of a Bad Boss
Daily News, October 8, 2019
Nearly half of workers, 49%, have quit a job because of a bad boss, according to survey results released today by Robert Half International Inc.
“We’ve all heard horror stories about difficult managers — or experienced one firsthand,” said Paul McDonald, senior executive director for Robert Half. “Work styles and how well a person gets along with their supervisor can determine whether someone decides to join or remain at a company.”
The survey included responses from more than 2,800 workers in 28 US cities.
Sacramento, California, had the highest percentage of employees leaving because of a bad boss at 66%. It was followed by Miami and Tampa in Florida at 58% each.
The city with the lowest percentage of employees quitting because of a bad boss was Minneapolis at 36%.