Category: Talent & Market Insights

PeopleScout Jobs Report Analysis—January 2023

Posted on by nfuqua

U.S. employers added 517,000 jobs in January, in a shockingly strong jobs report. The growth came after several months of slowly cooling jobs numbers. The unemployment rate dropped to 3.4%. Year-over-year wage growth fell to 4.4%.

jobs report infographic

The Numbers

517,000: The U.S. economy added 517,000 jobs in January.

3.4%: The unemployment rate fell to 3.4%.

4.4%: Wages rose 4.4% over the past year.

The Good

The numbers in January’s jobs report were surprisingly strong. According to the Wall Street Journal, the unemployment rate of 3.4% is the lowest in 53 years. The monthly job growth was the strongest we’ve seen since July 2022, with the leisure and hospitality sector leading in job gains.The length of the average work week grew, which means that not only are more people working, but they’re also working more hours.  Finally, despite the strong growth and low unemployment rate, wage growth continued to soften, a good indicator of decreasing inflation.

The Bad

The bad news in January’s report is that the Federal Reserve likely has more work to do to combat high inflation. According to the New York Times, Fed officials have said that they are looking for the labor market to cool. While the slower wage growth is a step in the right direction, January’s numbers show a robust, competitive and resilient job market. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that they will continue to watch economic data ahead of their next meetings in March and May.

The Unknown

When combined with other economic indications, January’s jobs report highlights the mixed signals of the U.S. economy. Like wage growth, inflation is starting to slow. Tech company layoffs have made significant headlines, and more job cuts are expected. Despite the strong job growth, the labor participation rate remains well below pre-pandemic numbers. Now, as MarketWatch reports, many businesses are reluctant to lay off workers that they struggled to hire in 2021 and 2022, which could help the U.S. economy avoid a recession.

Talking Talent: 2023 Global Talent Market Snapshot

Posted on by nfuqua

As we start 2023, global economic uncertainty remains; so, in this episode of Talking Talent, we’re taking a look at how labor market trends are impacting different regions around the globe.

Over the past three years, we’ve heard a lot of the same words and phrases repeatedly: unprecedented, uncertainty, new normal and the list goes on. We would all prefer if these words stop echoing around in the backs of our minds, but we’re not there yet.

However, if we look at what is happening in different regions around world, we can gain a better understanding of where we stand globally. What are the biggest challenges and opportunities? What can we learn from each other?

In this episode, we hear from three of PeopleScout’s senior leaders, PeopleScout President, Rick Betori*, UK Managing Director and Head of EMEA Operational Delivery, Jon Porter, and Managing Director of APAC, Tim Powell.

Rick Betori has served as President of PeopleScout since March 2023. In his role, Rick helps strengthen client partnerships, drives innovation in talent solutions, fosters collaboration across teams and regions, and bolsters PeopleScout’s reputation as an industry leader and trusted talent partner. He has been with TrueBlue since 2011 and has over 25 years of proven experience driving organizational change and growth. An innovator in business delivery and operations, Rick served as the President of StudentScout until it was acquired by TrueBlue (PeopleReady’s parent company), when he joined PeopleReady’s leadership team.

Jon started his career in finance with KPMG but has spent the last 25 years partnering with commercial and public sector organizations to find solutions to their resourcing problems. Responsible for our EMEA RPO and talent advisory business, his role covers all aspects of client engagement, service delivery and colleague development. Jon joined PeopleScout as part of the company’s acquisition of TMP in 2018.

With a wealth of experience gained from nearly three decades in human capital consulting, RPO and related talent acquisition services, Tim leads PeopleScout’s operations in the APAC region. Tim joined PeopleScout in 2022 and has previously worked in key leadership roles with Deloitte, Accenture and Korn Ferry in APAC, Europe and North America. Tim’s commitment to diversity and inclusion is illustrated by his tenure as a Board member for both Fighting Chance Australia and Jigsaw Australia, two national social enterprises aimed at providing innovative work and wellness programs for people with disabilities.

In this episode, these three leaders discuss what their respective talent markets look like now, what should be top of mind for talent leaders in 2023 and how they can put the hard-learned lessons from the past three years into practice.

*At the time of this recording, Rick’s title was PeopleScout Managing Director, the Americas.

Inside the Candidate Experience: 3 Revelations from Our 2023 Report

Posted on by akessler

By Simon Wright, Global Head of Talent Advisory

When it comes to applying for and accepting new jobs, candidates have more options than ever before. Companies with poor candidate experiences will lose out on the top talent as employers battle for the best prospects.

So, how does the average candidate experience stack up against candidate expectations?

According to PeopleScout’s most recent research, less than two in 10 candidates rate their experience as excellent.

For the Inside the Candidate Experience 2023 Report, we used our proprietary Candidate Experience Diagnostic to audit the candidate journeys of over 215 organizations worldwide. Then we compared this to data gathered via a global survey of over 2,400 job seekers.

Research report

Inside the candidate experience 2023 report

Read the report

The findings reveal a significant gap between candidate expectations and the reality they face while looking for jobs, gathering information to support their decision, and applying.

Here are three surprises from our research:

1. Less than half of employers show information about the organization’s mission, purpose or values on the career site

Yet, they’re in the top considerations for applicants when deciding to apply.

Your takeaway:

Candidates want fulfilling employment and a company that upholds their values—especially Gen Z and Millennial workers. In fact, one in five Millennials state that an organization’s goals and mission are their top priority when considering a job. By not featuring this information on your career site, you’re passing up an opportunity to create an emotional connection with your candidates.

2. Just half (53%) of organizations provide an opportunity for candidates to register their interest or to sign up for job alerts

Even fewer (39%) prompted candidates to join a talent community.

Your takeaway:

Modern job seekers are more sophisticated than ever and are looking to grow a career, not just apply for jobs transactionally. In fact, on average nine months goes by between a candidate engaging with an employer and applying for a job. Maintaining a talent pipeline lets you build a relationship with your talent audience and ensures you get the best talent, not just those who are looking at the time a vacancy arises.

3. 44% of organizations did not provide an opportunity for candidates to give feedback on their experience

Plus, men are more likely than women to be aware of opportunities to provide and receive feedback during the recruitment process.

Your takeaway:

This is a major oversight for many organizations. If you’re not leveraging surveys to gather feedback from all of your candidates, you are passing up valuable insights that might help you enhance your employer brand, lower attrition and shorten your hiring cycle.

The candidate experience is a hot topic, and most talent leaders I speak with appear to recognize the value of improving the candidate journey. However, this research demonstrates that organizations still have work to do to live up to the standards of today’s job seekers. My hope is that our recent findings will mobilize talent acquisition teams to put real action behind their words and make bold moves to improve their candidate experience and speed up the pace of progress.

To get the full research and more actionable insights, download the Inside the Candidate Experience 2023 Report.

The Future of Work: 4 Key Factors That Will Shape the Workplace by 2030

Posted on by akessler

It’s no secret that the labor market has been volatile over the last several years, and talent acquisition teams have experienced a multitude of highs and lows. In our capacity as trusted advisors, PeopleScout analyzed patterns in global workforce trends to help our clients create informed strategies for future-proofing their workforce by examining how these patterns may affect their workforce. While we can’t predict the future of work, we think there are four key factors will shape the world of work over the next decade.

1. Flexibility

Flexibility is here to stay, and it will apply to everything from where and how we work to the roles we do and who we do them for. There will be no hard and fast rules about working hours and shifts in the future.

As life becomes increasingly characterized by change, employees will need to be agile—always ready to reskill. Learning becomes a constant, and we may even find ourselves counting AI robots as our trainers and mentors.

Flexibility and upskilling will manifest differently from generation to generation, so organizations must facilitate working arrangements for different demographics. Over the next decade, the generation gap will widen and then gradually close as Baby Boomers begin to settle down to retirement by blending work and leisure. Millennials and Gen Z will bring their progressive perspectives to work.

10 Predictions for What’s NEXT in the World of Work

DESTINATION 2030

Read the Report

2. Fluidity and the future of work

Globalization will enable much more cross-border, cross-company collaboration. Project teams will be established based on all sorts of factors, not just who’s in what department or which location. People will work with talent from all sorts of specialities as they move from project to project.

Technology helps to support our wellbeing as the lines between work and home become more blurred. But with new technologies come new laws, so security and compliance will also be strategically important, especially for organizations working at the cutting-edge of innovation.

3. Focus 

future of work

Organizational culture will become more important than ever before as people make career choices based on ethics, values and purpose above things like pay and benefits. More and more employees will choose to work for organizations that have a clear purpose and are committed to working in the most ethical, sustainable and socially responsible ways.

Technology also plays a role here, in helping people focus on the work that matters to them as automation takes over the mundane tasks. However, more AI and machine learning will make some roles redundant and create many others—generating even greater demand for technical, analytical and digital skill sets across sectors.

4. Forward-thinking and the future of work

Organizations will continue to compete when it comes to creating innovative new technologies and using those technologies in the most creative ways. But they’ll also be happy to pool some resources to create a better future for everyone. 

Issues like equality and climate change will continue to grow in importance, forcing organizations to find new and better ways of making social and environmental improvements at speed.

Onward, Upward and Who Knows Where the Future Workplace Will Go

You may feel more prepared for some changes more than others as we approach 2030, but it’s safe to say that there will be plenty of surprises that will require creative thinking in order to stay resilient.

PeopleScout will be on the journey with you to support, challenge and inspire you—no matter what the future holds.

To learn more about how we came to these predictions and see our research findings, check out our Destination 2030 white paper.

Recession, Recruiting and Resilience: Creating Opportunities for Workforce Planning Success

Posted on by akessler

With signs pointing toward a global recession, employers are preparing their workforces for what’s to come. This may mean cutting back on their investment in talent acquisition, delaying HR projects or even reducing their workforce.

While economic uncertainty can lead to difficult decisions for employers, it’s also important to recognize the opportunity it provides. This may be the perfect time to assess the resilience of your workforce and invest in workforce planning to make it fare better in the long run.

Is your talent acquisition program resilient enough to weather the storm? Here are four questions to ask to find out where you stand.

1. Is your employer brand and EVP still relevant?

If you haven’t updated your employer value proposition (EVP) in the last 18 months, it’s probably out of sync with the market and what candidates want. Now is the time to sense check if it’s relevant in 2023 and beyond. Does your employer brand work for a remote and hybrid workforce? Is it an authentic reflection of what you have to offer your employees?

Even if you’re not planning to hire actively in the near future, employer branding is also important for retention. Auditing and updating your brand will help you retain your current talent and ensure you’re ready to attract top talent in the future.

2. Is your hiring process working for remote and hybrid employees?

At the start of the pandemic, if you shoehorned your old in-person hiring process into your new hybrid or remote work reality and never looked back, it’s time to assess whether that’s really working for you. Remote work often requires a different set of skills than office-based work. Is your current process helping you assess those skills to achieve the quality-of-hire you need?  

Review the competencies and behaviors you need for each role to ensure they’re relevant for hybrid or remote employees. Now is the time to update job ads and evaluate your assessment process to ensure they are in tune with the success factors that drive your business now—instead of those that drove success pre-pandemic.

3. Are you achieving your DE&I recruitment goals?

While you may not be actively hiring, now is a good time to engage with diverse communities to ensure candidates from underrepresented backgrounds make up a significant portion of your talent pipeline when you’re ready to ramp up hiring again.

Increase your visibility in diverse communities via campaigns or event sponsorships. Look into your diversity analytics to understand what’s working and what’s not when it comes to sourcing and hiring your target audiences.

4. Is it time to consider RPO?

Now is the time to re-evaluate how you’re going to market for talent, whether via an internal talent acquisitions team, staffing agencies, recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) or a hybrid model. Work with your procurement partner to scrutinize your spend and evaluate your options to streamline and minimize risk—including standardizing with one global RPO partner.

Just because you’re not hiring at the same volume you were before, doesn’t mean outsourcing is out of the question. Recruiter On-Demand or project RPO engagements offer flexible solutions for targeted hiring needs. An RPO partner can also offer value-added talent advisory services like market insights, employer branding, assessment services and more. Plus, once engaged, your RPO partner will be on tap to hit the economic recovery running and scale up for your hiring surge.

An economic slowdown is not the time to put your talent acquisition strategy on the back burner. Use this time to take stock and get prepared so you’re ready to bounce back faster. You’ll be able to beat your competition and create a resilient workforce that’s ready for whatever the future has in store.

Want more insight into the future of work? Check out our ebook, Destination 2030: 10 Predictions for What’s NEXT in the World of Work.

PeopleScout Jobs Report Analysis – December 2022

Posted on by nfuqua

U.S. employers added 223,000 jobs in December, beating analyst expectations. The growth came despite rising interest rates aimed at slowing the job market. The unemployment rate dropped to 3.5%. Year-over-year wage growth fell to 4.6%.

jobs report infographic

The Numbers

223,000: U.S. employers added 223,000 jobs in December.

3.5%: The unemployment rate fell to 3.5 percent.

4.6%: Wages grew 4.6% over the past year.

The Good

December’s jobs report shows evidence the Federal Reserve’s strategy of increasing rates to provide a “soft landing” for the U.S. economy may be working. So, what would look like bad news in almost any other year is actually good news.  

The 223,000 jobs added to the economy is the smallest increase in the past years, as the Wall Street Journal reports, but it is still a healthy pace of job growth. Additionally, year-over-year wage growth slowed to 4.6%. Wage growth has remained stubbornly high over the past two years, and economists feared it could contribute to high inflation. December’s report helped allay some of those concerns.

The Bad

Though December’s job report was generally taken as good news, there are still some signs of unwanted weakness. As MarketWatch reports, layoffs in the technology sector are making an impact in the report. The business and professional services sector, which covers many tech roles, posted a decrease of 6,000 jobs. Additionally, while the labor force participation rate did increase in December, it still remains below prepandemic levels. This continues to contribute to the ongoing labor shortage.

The Unknown

Economists say that the slowing growth in December’s report will likely cause the Federal Reserve to slow the pace of interest rate increases aimed at slowing inflation. As the New York Times reports, the S&P 500 rose 2.3% with the release of the report. Investors have been eager for fewer and smaller interest rate increases. The Federal Reserve meets next on January 31.

Targeted Recruitment Marketing Campaign Delivers Talent for Global Theme Park Brand

Posted on by akessler
Targeted Recruitment Marketing Campaign Delivers Talent for Global Theme Park Brand

Targeted Recruitment Marketing Campaign Delivers Talent for Global Theme Park Brand

During a unique time in the market with remote and flexible work options becoming the norm, this multinational chain of family theme parks required help hiring for critical in-person roles including customer service, performers and lifeguards across two of its major U.S. theme parks. PeopleScout helped hire over 1,500 workers using recruitment marketing campaigns and our talent advisory expertise.

1,500 + hires made in just six months across two locations
reduced drop-off by streamlining the application process
reduced drop-off by streamlining the application process
30,000 clicks from recruitment marketing ads across social media and online display networks

Situation

This multinational chain of family theme parks required help hiring a variety of roles across its California and New York resorts including customer service roles, performers and lifeguards.

Solution

PeopleScout conducted in-depth market research to determine the biggest challenges the client faced when recruiting for their theme parks and resorts. We identified remote work, “candidate is king” and higher pay as the three main challenges facing the client. Here’s how we solved each:


Challenge #1 — Remote Work:

More people want flexibility. Front-line and hourly positions are less attractive to candidates after the growth in remote work during the pandemic.

Our Solution: We leveraged the client’s “play” branding to emphasize the fun and rewarding aspects of working on-site at one of the theme parks. This was fed through into recruitment marketing creative and copy. 


Challenge #2 — “Candidate is King”:

With open positions outnumbering candidates for much of recent memory, today’s candidates know their worth, and the Great Resignation is proof that people are less willing than ever to settle.

Our Solution: By testing alternative job titles, improving job copy, and reaching out on different channels, we were able to widen our reach and pool of candidates. We strategically targeted candidates most likely to apply for the roles, such as those looking for seasonal or part-time jobs.

Challenge #3 — Higher Pay:

When faced with increased living costs, candidates are demanding higher pay.

Our Solution: The client was not in a position to raise wages for these roles. So, we got creative by restructuring job copy to better position the client’s competitive benefits. By quantifying these benefits and putting them front and center on job postings and recruitment marketing materials, we were able to generate interest without raising wages.

Results

  • In the first six months, we were able to fulfill our goal of 1,336 hires in California & 190 in New York.
  • The client’s previous application had up to 22 sections where the candidate had to input information. PeopleScout optimized and shortened this candidate journey by employing a variety of channels including Indeed One-Click, Indeed Hiring Events and Talent.com. This reduced the application abandonment rate.
  • PeopleScout restructured job descriptions to create job advertisements. In other words, we rewrote the copy to focus on the value the client and the role have to offer their employees rather than what the client wanted from candidates.  
  • PeopleScout performed A/B tests to determine which job titles would help reach a wider pool of candidates. For example, we found that “Waterpark Attendant” received almost 300 applications in the first week, while “Lifeguard” received only 15.
  • Social outreach using Facebook, Instagram and Google Display Network resulted in 4.1 million impressions and 30,000 clicks across the California and New York audiences.

At a Glance

  • COMPANY
    Multinational chain of family theme parks
  • INDUSTRY
    Travel & Tourism
  • PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS
    Talent Advisory
  • ANNUAL HIRES
    1,500+
  • LOCATIONS
    Over 10 theme parks around the world
Let’s Connect

[On-Demand] The Hard Truth About Candidate Experience: Part One

Posted on by nfuqua

[On-Demand] The Hard Truth About Candidate Experience: Part One

Heading into 2023, employers continue to face a challenging talent market. Beyond a shortage of qualified applicants, candidate expectations for the recruitment process have never been higher. Our latest research shows that fewer than two in ten candidates rate their experience as excellent, which means engaging top talent in the new year will require a new approach.

Make 2023 the year you focus on how you interact with job seekers. Join PeopleScout Global Head of Talent Consulting Simon Wright for the newest Talking Talent webinar, The Hard Truth About Candidate Experience available on-demand.

This bite-sized 30-minute webinar is part one of a two-part series that makes a case for the importance of a stellar candidate experience and provides the data to back up our recommendations for creating one.

In this first webinar, Simon will cover:

  • The state of the global jobs market
  • Current trends in job seeker behavior
  • The impact of changing consumer expectations
  • The cost of a poor candidate experience
  • And our forthcoming research!

PeopleScout Jobs Report Analysis—November 2022

Posted on by nfuqua

U.S. employers added 263,000 jobs in November, beating analyst expectations. The growth came despite rising interest rates aimed at slowing the job market. The unemployment rate remained at 3.7%. Year-over-year wage growth rose to 5.1%.

jobs report infographic

The Numbers

263,000: U.S. employers added 263,000 jobs in November.

3.7%: The unemployment rate remained at 3.7%.

5.1%: Wages grew 5.1% over the past year

The Good

While the overall jobs number remained higher than expected in November, the growth was not spread evenly across industries. Service-based industries like leisure and hospitality and education grew, while goods-based industries like retail and transportation and warehousing saw jobs losses. As the New York Times reports, these numbers show that while employers are being more cautious, they are still finding reason to expand.

While the U.S. job market has fully recovered the number of jobs lost at the start of COVID-19 pandemic, some industries lag behind their 2019 jobs numbers, like leisure and hospitality. Those industries largely drove November’s growth.

The Bad

As MarketWatch reports, November’s jobs data is not promising when it comes to reducing inflation. Year-over-year wage growth jumped back up to 5.1%—significantly higher than the Federal Reserve’s goal. November alone saw a 0.6% jump in wages, which is more than double what is expected.

The Unknown

The Federal Reserve is set to meet in two weeks, and as the Wall Street Journal reports, November’s jobs numbers make it likely that officials will raise interest rates about 0.5%. This comes after four straight .075% increases. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has said that some prices that rose significantly in the past year, like used cars and housing could fall in 2023 but that “despite some promising developments, we have a long way to go” when it comes to inflation. To decrease inflation, experts will watch carefully in the next year to see how high and for how long the Federal Reserve will raise rates.

U.S. Workforce Trends Quarterly Report for Q3 2022

Posted on by nfuqua

U.S. Workforce Trends Quarterly Report for Q3 2022

To help businesses succeed in navigating the current hiring climate, our Q3 2022 U.S. Workforce Trends Report shares the latest employment numbers along with exclusive jobs data across a variety of industries.

Although the high demand for U.S. workers has cooled a bit since its peak in April 2022 (11.9 million), the number of unfilled jobs remained high as of September 2022, with 10.1 million job openings, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Companies face a mismatch between supply and demand that has left about 1.7 job openings for every available worker, notes BLS data. The mismatch has led to increasing wages, with average hourly earnings up 5% year over year.

To help businesses succeed in navigating the current hiring climate, our U.S. Workforce Trends Quarterly Report for Q3 2022 shares the latest employment numbers along with exclusive jobs data across a variety of industries.

Key information in the report includes:

  • The latest national jobs numbers

  • Wage info for several key industries

  • Breakdown of jobs seeing the most growth

  • Recommended solutions and strategies for dealing with the labor shortage