As we go deeper into 2019, employers across the country are turning to technology to help fill vacant roles, speed up the hiring process, and offer candidates and employees an experience they’ll never forget. Hiring intentions continue to remain steady and because of this, more employers are now realizing that efficiency is the key to success in 2019.
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CareerBuilder recently released the findings of its annual study, which revealed that 40% of employers plan to hire full-time, permanent employees in 2019. Hiring for full-time employees and part-time or contract workers is on par with the 2018 report, which was 44% and 51% last year, respectively.
There is demand for full-time workers, as 50% of human resource managers say they currently have open positions for which they cannot find qualified candidates. However, there are candidates ready to take on those roles.
Across all skills levels, 32% of workers are looking to change jobs in 2019. When asked why they left their last job, employees cited low compensation or a lack of benefits (15%) and poor company culture (10%) as the reason for leaving.
“The employment outlook is positive with 40 percent of employers looking to hire full-time, permanent employees. While a skills gap has created an environment where employers are having trouble finding qualified talent, employees’ and companies’ mutual dedication towards competency-based training indicates we have made leaps and bounds toward eliminating these obstacles,” says Irina Novoselsky, CEO of CareerBuilder. “We’ve found that 59 percent of employers plan to train and hire workers who may not be 100 percent qualified but have potential. Technological innovation will continue to be a driving force in defining the labor market for both in demand jobs and how companies recruit for open roles.”
The national surveys, which were conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder from December 20, 2018 to January 16, 2019, included representative samples of 1,021 hiring managers and human resource managers, and 1,010 full-time U.S. workers across industries and company sizes in the private sector.
Employment and Hiring Trends to Watch in 2019
Candidates’ soft skills are increasingly important when applying to jobs. Ninety-two percent of employers say soft skills, including interpersonal skills, communication abilities, and critical thinking, will be important in determining whether they will hire candidates.
Eighty percent also said that soft skills would be equally or more important than hard skills when hiring candidates, since specific technical skills are necessary for some jobs. The top skills that employers will be hiring for in 2019 are the ability to be team-oriented (51%), attention to detail (49%), and customer service (46%).
Opportunities for jobseekers are available year-round. Fifty-one percent of hiring managers recruit throughout the calendar year for positions that may open up later on. Of those who continuously recruit, 55 percent say this reduces their time-to-hire and 42% share it reduces cost-per-hire.
Companies and jobseekers are willing to invest in tech training. Fifty-five percent of employers believe that, on average, 50% or more of all jobs include tech requirements, and 56% have paid for employees to get skills-based training outside the office, so they can move up to a higher-skill job within their organization.
However, 66% of employees say their company does not offer educational opportunities or workshops outside of work hours to teach them new skills they could use in their jobs. Of those employees, 73% say they would be somewhat or extremely likely to participate if such opportunities were offered.
Convenience and culture may be more important than compensation. Employees cite factors like location (56%), affordable benefits plans (55%), job stability (55%), a good boss (48%), and good work culture (44%) as more important than salary when considering a position.
Compensation is on the rise. Twenty-nine percent of employers expect the average increase in salaries for existing employees to be 5% or more in 2019 compared to 2018.
Recruiting Trends to Watch for 2019
The jobseeker experience is paramount. HR managers (36%) cite improved user experiences for candidates, employees, and hiring managers as a top priority for recruitment and HR management going into 2019.
Efficiency is critical. HR managers also say helping recruiters to be more efficient in filling roles faster with higher quality candidates (29%) and expediting background checks (24%) are seen as top priorities for recruitment and HR management going into 2019.
Streamlined communication. Twenty-two percent of HR managers believe technology will be most beneficial in helping manage and maintain regular communication with job candidates during the application process. To simplify the process, recruiters should turn to automation and artificial intelligence (AUI) that enables them to communicate directly with candidates through text message and e-mail.
Speak the same language. Recruiters speak one language and candidates speak another; it’s no wonder 39% of HR managers say technology would be most beneficial in helping with sorting through applicants to identify top candidates and remove candidates that are not qualified.
Perfecting the process. Bad hires can negatively affect companies, and the main ways they impacted employers’ businesses last year were less productivity (28%), they negatively impacted employee morale (25%), and they drove up costs for recruiting and training other workers (24%). Additionally, employers who have had a bad hire affect their business, in the past year, estimate the average cost of a bad hire is more than $18,700.
Top Areas for Hiring in 2019
As new technologies are constantly introduced, legacy industries are being transformed and the need for workers with specialized, high-tech capabilities is on the rise.
- In demand areas for hiring:
- Jobs tied to skilled labor: 25%
- Jobs tied to data analysis: 21%
- Jobs tied to digital marketing: 12%
- Jobs tied to cybersecurity: 11%
- Jobs tied to AI and machine learning: 10%
- Jobs tied to healthy living: 10%
- Hiring by region; where employers are hiring full-time, permanent employees:
- West: 44%
- South: 42%
- Northeast: 37%
- Midwest: 35%
Research Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by The Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder among 1,021 hiring and human resource managers ages 18 and over (employed full-time, not self-employed, nongovernment, including 312 HR managers) and 1,010 employees ages 18 and over (employed full-time, not self-employed, nongovernment) between December 20, 2018 and January 16, 2019.
Data for employers were weighted where necessary by company size and job level and data for employees were weighted where necessary by gender, age, race/ethnicity, region, income, education, and industry to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population.