Heartbeats of the Economy October 15, 2020

Through the Lens of Talent Acquisition

The Employment Situation — September 2020

The Numbers:

• Total non-farm employment rose by 661,000 in September
• Temporary help services rose by 8,100
• The national unemployment rate declined, from 8.4% to 7.9%
• 13 of the 15 major industry groups gained jobs last month
• Leisure & Hospitality added 318,000 jobs
• Unemployment rate continues to decline as the number of job losers on temporary layoff continues to decline: 4.498 million in September from 6.160 million in August
• The number of “permanent job losers” continues to rise, to 3.756 million in September from 3.411 million in August
• Labor force decline in September to 160.143 million, it remains well below its January 2020 peak of 164.606 million
• Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Forecasters Split on When U.S. Economy Will Return to Pre-Pandemic Levels

The Numbers:

• According to its October report 38%, of the National Association for Business Economics report estimate pre-pandemic GDP levels by the second half of 2021
• 32% expect it to reach that level in the first half of 2022, and 30% believe it will occur in the second half of 2022 or later
• The median forecast for job gains in 2021 is 350,000 per month, down from the 497,000 projected in June
• Source: Staffing Industry Analyst

Jobless Claims Fall By 9,000 Last Week, But Some Concerns About Data

The Numbers:

• Initial jobless claims fell by 9,000 in the week ended October 3rd
• However, concerns remain, economists expected 825,000 new claims
• Initial jobless claims under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program fell by 44,270 to a total of 464,437
• Extended benefits claims rose by 84,129 in the week ended September 19th to 352,479
• Source: Staffing Industry Analyst

Auto Industry Struggles to Find Workers

The Numbers:

• Suppliers are struggling to staff production lines
• Demand for new vehicles has rebounded
• Rewards for good attendance and at-work teachers to lure job seekers
• Employers to raise pay despite the high national jobless rate
• Many suppliers are dealing with absenteeism rates of 10-15%
• Source: Reuters

New LinkedIn Data Shows That Job Seeker Interest Is Shifting to Small Businesses

The Numbers:

• This is an excellent time for SMBs to hire blue-chip talent
• While SMB share of jobs dropped by 22% since March, their share of applications risen by 25%
• SMB workers: more likely to seek purposeful mission and challenge
• 25% of SMB employees said a purposeful mission was one of the most important EVPs
• Employees moving into SMBs are more likely to become managers
• Source: LinkedIn

Future of Sales 2025: Data-Driven B2B Selling to Drive Digital Commerce

The Numbers:

• The rise in interactivity between suppliers and buyers will lead to more interdependence of people, processes and technology
• 60% Of B2B Sales organizations will adopt data-driven selling by 2025
• Sales leaders must adopt the principles of hyper-automation and bring B2B digital commerce into the fold
• Source: Gartner

Digital Immigration: Could Global Hiring Be the Future?

The Numbers:

• Recent mass migration to remote work has triggered a change in the dynamics between talent and employers
• LinkedIn found that regarding city migration patterns, departures have significantly exceeded new arrivals and have fallen more than 20% from April through August of this year versus a year earlier
• According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 35.4% of American workers teleworked in May
• Source: Forbes

IT Jobs Rise for Second Straight Month in September Following Initial Impact of COVID-19

The Numbers:

• IT employment was up by 0.47% to nearly 5.2 million jobs in September
• The explosion of ‘work from home’ and the need for ‘digital transformation’ resulted in an investment in IT
• Engineering employment rose by 0.49% in September to a total of nearly 2.6 million jobs
• Source: Staffing Industry Analyst

35% of U.S. Employers are Lowering Projected Salary Increase Budgets for Next Year

The Numbers:

• 35% of U.S. employers are reducing their projected 2021 salary increase budgets
• Employee groups are projected to receive salary increases of 2.6% in 2021, down from a projected 2.8%
• Salary increase for top executives is expected to be 2.5% in 2021
• Source: Staffing Industry Analyst