BLS Analysis for Recruiters, July 2019 – 6 articles

Bob Marshall’s July 2019 BLS Analysis for Recruiters; 8/2/19

The 6 July BLS Analysis Articles…

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Online Job Advertising Rises 15%; Report Lists Largest Firms

Daily News, July 22, 2019

Global revenue from online jobs advertising rose by 15% in 2018 on a constant currency basis to reach $22 billion, according to a report released this month by Staffing Industry Analysts titled “Online Job Advertising: 2019 Market Update.”  It also found LinkedIn and Recruit now hold some 48% of the market.

“2018 was a good year for most of the online job advertising industry with revenue growth being achieved by 45 of the 50 firms assessed in our report,” said John Nurthen, SIA’s executive director of global research.

“However, the market remains challenging and highly competitive, particularly for traditional job boards (still the predominant model),” Nurthen said.  “Pricing pressure is a feature of the market as basic job board functionalities have become commoditized and new business models continue to capture market share.”

Fueling growth has been continued economic expansion, increased mobile phone access, more job-search products and more candidate traffic driven by the Google for Jobs API.

Online jobs advertising includes revenue from job boards, job aggregators, online classifieds, social media job sites, community sites, programmatic job advertising/job distributors and job post optimizers.

Here are the 5 largest online job advertising firms in the world:

Rank Parent company Country HQ 2018 revenue (millions) Primay brands*
1 Microsoft (LinkedIn) US $5,982 LinkedIn
2 Recruit Holdings Japan $4,396 Indeed, Glassdoor, SimplyHired, Rikunabi NEXT, FromAravi 
3 SEEK Australia $951 JobsDB, JobStreet, Jora, Zhaopin, Catho, OCC mundial 
4 CareerBuilder US $746 JobsCentral, JobScout24, Broadbean, Sologig, Headhunter, CareerRookie, MiracleWorkers, WorkInRetail, JobsInMotion 
5 Axel Springer Germany $724 Totaljobs, Jobsite, Stepstone, (IrishJobs, CareerJunction, MyJobsGroup), YourCareerGroup, Drushim, Appcast 

*Where different from, or in addition to, the parent company brand.

Attorneys General Come Out Against Employee Noncompete Agreements

Daily News, July 17, 2019

Attorneys general from 17 states and the District of Columbia called for the Federal Trade Commission to consider prohibiting employee noncompete, non-solicitation and no-poach agreements.

At a minimum, they urged the FTC to consider bans on intra-franchise no-poach agreements, noncompete agreements for low-wage workers and a ban on noncompetes involving “multi-sided platforms” such as human cloud platforms.

The attorneys general made their case in a letter published on Monday.

“It is important in a constantly changing economy for workers to be able to advance their careers, develop professionally, and seek better compensation when there are opportunities to do so,” Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey said in a statement.  “Noncompete clauses and no-poach contract agreements are frequently used against workers to depress wages and limit mobility.”

The letter discussed 3 types of no-poach agreements:

*Naked no-poach or no-hire agreements that are per se illegal under antitrust law, according to the letter.  This is when employers agree to not hire one another’s workers.

*Horizontal no-poach agreements such as between franchisor and franchisees whereby franchisees agree to not hire employees of other franchisees.

*Noncompetes between employers and employees.   These restrict an employee’s ability to work for a competitor after leaving their current employer.  A subset of employer and employee noncompetes are no-poach agreements whereby an employee agrees to not solicit employees from the old company to join the new company.

It noted that noncompete agreements between employers and employees are legal in most states, and about 20% of Americans are bound by noncompetes.

“By limiting worker mobility, especially that of low-wage workers, noncompetes restrict workers’ earnings opportunities and the economic security of their families,” according to the letter.  “Noncompetes also harm competition by depriving businesses, who were not a party to the noncompete agreements, the opportunity to hire available, qualified workers.”

Some states, such as California and Montana, do not enforce such agreements, according to the letter.  And several other states have recently passed legislation covering noncompetes.

The letter also noted noncompete agreements among human cloud platform firms, such as online staffing firms, can cause damage.

“Platforms grow through network effects, where additional users on a platform make the platform more valuable and attractive,” according to the letter.  “In those situations, noncompete agreements imposed by a platform can be especially harmful because a no-compete agreement prevents laborers from switching to an upstart platform, which will have difficulty achieving the necessary scale to meaningfully enter the market.”

Signing the letter were attorneys general from California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington and the District of Columbia.

Over One-third Loosen Job Requirements Amid Tight Labor Market:  Adecco USA

Daily News, July 17, 2019

Some hiring managers are loosening job requirements to help bring workers on board, according to a survey by Adecco USA, part of The Adecco Group.  It found 37% loosened job requirements in order to recruit talent, and of those that did loosen their requirements, 72% did so within the last year.

The survey included hiring decision-makers in the US with responsibility for hiring temporary workers.

When it comes to loosening requirements, Adecco USA found that 62% lowered the required years of experience, 52% sped up the hiring process, 50% reduced educational requirements, 21% stopped drug testing and 16% stopped background checks.

“With the shallow candidate pool, many employers face challenges identifying candidates that meet all the qualifications traditionally required,” said Amy Glaser, senior VP, Adecco USA.  “By loosening requirements, employers may open up an entirely new group of candidates, which can enable them to better fill in-demand positions.”

Nearly half, 49%, of companies that have loosened or plan to loosen their requirements did so because they were unable to find enough qualified candidates.  One-third said they loosened requirements because they noticed the were losing job candidates to competitors.

Common issues in the survey were that 32% of candidates left the hiring process in favor of freelance work, 44% of candidates stopped returning phone calls/emails during the hiring process and 41% said candidates realized the job was not a great fit.

67% of IT Decision Makers with Hiring Authority Use Text to Communicate with Job Candidates

Daily News, July 16, 2019

A majority of IT decision makers with hiring authority, 67%, use texting as a way to coordinate interviews with prospective job candidates, according to research by Robert Half Technology, a division of Robert Half International Inc.  In addition, 48% of US workers polled by the company have received a text message from a potential employer.

“Managers are taking steps to speed up the recruiting process,” said Ryan Sutton, a district president of Robert Half Technology.  “Using texting as part of your hiring efforts may mean the difference in getting to your top candidate first and fast, especially at a time when they could be receiving multiple offers.”

Still, Sutton cautioned managers and potential employees to text wisely and watch their etiquette.

The company offered 3 texting tips for hiring managers:

1.  Ask permission.  Verify candidates are open to text messaging.

2.  Save it for simple communication.  Text are ideal for scheduling interviews or following up but aren’t appropriate for more involved discussions such as job offers and salary negotiations.

3.  Reach out during business hours.  Avoid texting at night or on weekends to demonstrate respect for work-life boundaries.

Robert Half’s surveys for the research included more than 1,000 workers over 18 years old in the US and more than 2,800 IT decision makers in 28 major US markets with hiring authority.

Taking Phone Calls, Being Intoxicated and Other Job Interview Don’ts

Daily News, July 11, 2019

From taking phone calls during job interviews to showing up under the influence of drugs, Express Employment Professionals surveyed business leaders and job seekers about the most inappropriate activities they have seen during job interviews.

In one case, a candidate grabbed a doughnut without asking then proceeded to eat it during the interview; another job seeker arrived wearing bunny slippers.

Here’s what the business leaders said they have seen while interviewing candidates:

*  85% report a job candidate “showing up late.”

*  83% report a job candidate with “inappropriate clothing.”

*  49% report a job candidate with “inappropriate language.”

*  48% report a job candidate “eating or chewing gum.”

*  39% report a job candidate “responding to text messages.”

*  37% report a job candidate “answering a phone call.”

*  31% report a job candidate “bringing a child into the interview.”

*  31% report a job candidate “bringing a friend into the interview.”

*  26% report a job candidate “bringing a parent into the interview.”

*  24% report a job candidate being “under the influence” of drugs or alcohol.

“Aggressive pushback is usually the most shocking,” said Janis Petrini, an Express franchise owner in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  In response to a question about job history, Petrini said one job candidate said it was “none of your business.”

She saw another candidate “use his phone from the moment he sat at the desk until the moment he walked out of the door.  He took several phone calls, a video chat and posted to his social media — and then proceeded to rush through the rest of the interview process.”

Mike Brady, franchise owner of the Jacksonville West office in Florida, said not only did an applicant take a phone call, the applicant “even held up a finger telling me to wait.”

Job candidates reported inappropriate behavior by their interviewers as well:

*  63% report an interviewer “showing up late.”

*  58% report having an interviewer with a “lack of preparation.”

*  51% report an interviewer “answering a phone call.”

*  39% report an interviewer “oversharing.”

*  30% report an interviewer “asking discriminatory questions.”

*  28% report an interviewer “wearing inappropriate clothing.”

An interview is an opportunity for a candidate to showcase his or her full potential, candidates who show they don’t care likely won’t get the job, Express CEO Bill Stoller said.  But interviewers also need to be self-aware.

“In this tight labor market, the smallest thing could turn off a qualified candidate, and that’s not something you can afford,” Stoller said.

The report was based on a survey of 310 business leaders and 212 job seekers.

Healthcare Organizations Seek More Medical Specialists, Fewer Primary Care Doctors: Report

Daily News, July 8, 2019

Healthcare organizations are seeking more medical specialists and fewer primary care physicians, according to a report released today by Merritt Hawkins, a physician search provider that is part of AMN Healthcare Services Inc.  The report also found physicians practicing invasive cardiology have the highest average starting salaries at $640,000.

“While demand remains strong for primary care physicians, specialists are increasingly needed to care for an older and sicker population,” said Travis Singleton, executive VP of Merritt Hawkins.  “In some medical specialties, shortages are emerging that will pose a serious challenge to public health.”

Merritt Hawkins’ report, the “2019 Review of Physician and Advanced Practitioner Recruiting Incentives,” is based on a sample of 3,131 searches from physicians and advanced practitioner that the firm conducted from April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2019.

It found that 78% of Merritt Hawkins’ recruiting engagements were for medical specialists, up from 67% a year ago.  However, searches for primary care physicians fell by 8% year over year and by 38% compared to 4 years ago.  Primary care physicians include family doctors, internists and pediatricians.

In terms of salaries, the second-highest average starting salaries wen to orthopedic surgeons at $536,000.  Next were gastroenterologists at $495,000 and urologists at $464,000.

For family physicians, the average starting salary was $239,000.

The average signing bonus offered to physicians is $32,692, according to the report.