>>By the Numbers: February 2nd, 2018

By the Numbers: February 2nd, 2018

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Skills Shortage Affecting More Than One Aspect of the Workplace

The Hays U.S. 2018 Salary Guide finds that more than half of the 3,000 employers and managers in the guide state they are hiring in 2018. However, 75% recognize that their industries have severe skills shortage – 92% state that shortage is negatively affecting productivity, employee satisfaction, and turnover. Construction and life sciences are reported to have been hit the hardest.

Data Literacy Not Up to Par with Demand

A study by Qlik states that only 33% of employees felt satisfied with their data literacy skills. 97% of respondents stated that data improves their job performance and 74% said employers would value them more if their data literacy improved.

Inflation Outpacing Wages

Per Glassdoor, U.S. wages have not increased enough to keep up with inflation. The annual median base pay in the U.S. grew only 0.9% year over year in January 2018 to $51,364. Medical Technology had the biggest increase – the median salary rose 4.1% to  $54,747.

Flu Season is Costing Employers Big Money

The CDC has reported that this flu season is the worst in 10 years. It’s estimated that over $9 billion will be lost when measuring the decrease in productivity due to employees being home sick. It’s expected that 11 million employed adults will catch the flu this season.

EasyJet CEO Cuts His Salary to Match Female Predecessor’s

The CEO of EasyJet, Johan Lundgren, took a voluntary reduction in pay to match his female predecessor’s pay. The company reports they have a pay gap of 51.7%, mostly due to the fact that 94% of their pilots are male.

Entry Level Hiring Continues to Rise in 2018

CollegeGrad.com reports that 2017 was the highest level of entry-level hiring recorded, but many employers are planning to hire even more in 2018.

Low Percentage of U.S. Workers Happy with Salary

An Indeed Survey finds that only 19% of U.S. workers are satisfied with their salaries. 60% said they would prefer another $6,000 per year.

Consumer Confidence on the Rise

“Consumers’ assessment of current conditions decreased slightly, but remains at historically strong levels,” said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board. “Expectations improved, though consumers were somewhat ambivalent about their income prospects over the coming months, perhaps the result of some uncertainty regarding the impact of the tax plan. Overall, however, consumers remain quite confident that the solid pace of growth seen in late 2017 will continue into 2018.”

IT Hires Some of the Most Difficult

Within IT, Artificial Intelligence and Data Science roles are the hardest to fill, but the list of tough roles to hire for is lengthy. A buttoned-up job description could help:

“It might seem like a good idea to make job requirements as exhaustive as possible, but in reality, that may turn off qualified candidates who would be great for the job,” Jason Hayman, market research manager at IT staffing firm TEKsystems, told CIO. “To combat this we recommend companies work with IT managers, line-level staff and recruiting experts to put together a realistic job description to widen the candidate pool.”

Second Annual ‘National Plan for Vacation Day’

The Project: Time Off coalition organized the second ‘National Plan for Vacation Day’ on January 30. The association estimates that 662 million vacation days were left unused in 2016 alone by U.S. employees.

Commuter-Friendly Programs Wanted

Best Workplaces for Commuters found that commuters value remote work options as well as bike storage when considering working for a new company. Low-cost transit passes and emergency rides home also top the list.

By |2018-02-02T04:42:40+00:00February 2nd, 2018|Categories: Talent Acquisition Trends|Comments Off on By the Numbers: February 2nd, 2018

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Erin Geiger is a seasoned Content, Editorial, and Product Engagement professional with two decades of experience creating content as well as overall content direction and strategy. Her background stems from a variety of online verticals ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 corporations.