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Unemployment Hits 17 Year Low
The U.S. unemployment rate dipped to 3.9% in April, though some analysts state this is due to a decline in the labor force participation rate. The Fed forecasts the rate will decrease to 3.6% in 2019. The economy added 164k jobs last month.
What Impacts Grads Accepting or Declining Job Offers
The ‘2018 Yello Recruiting Study’ found that almost 50% of respondents, made up of recent graduates and those about to graduate, were weighing multiple job offers. When asked why they declined offers, a negative experience with the recruiter was cited 20% of the time and the time it took for an offer to come through grabbed another 20%.
Union Pacific Offers Big Bonus to Denver Hires
Train crew positions at Union Pacific’s Denver facility could include up to $20K in hiring bonuses. The bonus is to be paid out over several points within the first 18-20 months on the job.
Onboarding Has Strong Influence on Employee Turnover
A survey by Digitate found that employers that have an unorganized onboarding process are twice as likely for those hires to move on ‘in the near future’.
Employees Want Student Loan Benefits
Research from CommonBond found that student debt is a stressor for recent graduates as well as older generations. 78% of those with student loan debt would like their employer to offer a repayment benefit.
‘Water Cooler Conversation’ Tops Office Distractions
In a survey from Robert Half, 32% of employees cited chatting and socializing with coworkers as the biggest distractions. Following closely behind at 25% was ‘nonbusiness-related’ internet use, and meetings at 23%.
Philadelphia’s Salary History Ban Violating First Amendment?
On May 1 a federal district court judge stated that the city’s salary history ban violated the first amendment. A preliminary injunction temporarily stopped this aspect of the ordinance, which was supposed to go into effect in May 2017.
‘Diversity Fatigue’ Plagues Tech Industry
A new study from Atlassian finds that Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) in the tech industry are slowing down. Tech companies ‘are not making significant progress toward building balanced teams’. The report also finds that ‘fatigue has set in and progress has stalled’ – although 80% of respondents stated D&I is important.
Having a ‘Great Job’ is Reality for the Minority
A new Gallup Poll shows that a mere 7% of the world’s population (3.3 million working or looking) feel they have a great job. The ‘2018 Global Great Jobs Briefing’ found that 1.4 billion of the 5 billion people on Earth have a good job and only 16% of those are engaged.
Retail Jobs Declining
Per a LinkedIn study, people listing retail associate on their LinkedIn profile has gone down over 40% from 2013-2017. Software Developer is the fastest growing job in retail, going from 8th to 3rd between 2013-2017.
Career Development Tops in Employee Rewards
A study from WorldatWork on the ‘future of work’ found that the tight labor market will lead it increased pay as well as career development and flexible work schedules
U.S. Nonmanufacturing Index Slows In March
“Economic activity in the US nonmanufacturing sector decelerated in April, according to the Institute for Supply Management’s nonmanufacturing index released today.
ISM’s nonmanufacturing index fell in April to a reading of 56.8 from March’s reading of 58.8. The slowing in the rate of growth was mostly attributed to the decline in the employment and the supplier deliveries portions of the index.”
Jobless Claims Average Hits Historic Low
The US four-week moving average of initial claims for unemployment insurance fell to 221,500 last week, down 7,750 from the previous week’s unrevised average, the US Department of Labor reported. This is the lowest level for this average since March 3, 1973, when it was 221,250.
U.S. Private Sector Continues Momentum
“US private sector employment rose by 204,000 jobs in April from March despite a tight labor market, according to the ADP National Employment Report. March’s gain was revised downward to 228,000 from the initially reported 241,000.
“The labor market continues to maintain a steady pace of strong job growth with little sign of a slowdown,” said Ahu Yildirmaz, VP and co-head of the ADP Research Institute. “However, as the labor pool tightens it will become increasingly difficult for employers to find skilled talent. Job gains in the high-skilled professional and business services industry accounted for more than half of all jobs added this month. The construction industry, which also relies on skilled labor, continued its six-month trend of steady job gains as well.””
Significant AI Investments Happening in Talent Acquisition
Per Randstad Sourceright’s Q2 2018 Talent Trends Report, the use of artificial intelligence to assist in sourcing and hiring employees in this competitive employment market has largely increased. Three out of four employers are overhauling their strategies with 46% making further investments in AI for recruiting – leveraging such technologies as chatbots, human cloud platforms, and predictive analytics.
“Millennials are a critical part of our national workforce and the way they look for jobs, and what they look for in a job, has changed dramatically from previous generations,” Randstad Sourceright CEO Rebecca Henderson said. “As a result, employers are investing heavily in digital recruitment tools to better reach this audience and focus on creating an employer brand that is more likely to retain this large segment of the workforce.”
Large Segment of Over 60 Population Delaying Retirement
A survey from CareerBuilder found that 53% of employees 60 and over were postponing retirement – 57% of men and 48% of women.
“Postponing retirement will make an impact across all of our country’s workforce, along with retirement policy and financial and healthcare planning,” said Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer at CareerBuilder. “With workers staying in their jobs longer, employers are adjusting hiring needs, but also reaping the benefits of the extra skills and mentoring abilities of mature employees.”
Russian Robot = Uber Productive Interviewer
Per The Washington Post, ‘Robot Vera’, a robot created by a Russian startup, can interview 1,500 job candidates in one day. The robot is focused on recruiting for software technology roles and can speak both Russian and English.
Many Employees Prefer Working On Location
The Randstad Workmonitor survey for the first-quarter found that 62% of U.S. employees prefer working in the office. That percentage grows to 65% with those aged 18-24, going against the assumption that millennials prefer digital communication and remote work.
