Bob Marshall’s October 2021 BLS Analysis for Recruiters; 11/5/21
The 5 October Articles…
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Adding Benefits Descriptions to Job Ads Can Increase Apply Rate by 22%
Daily News, November 1, 2021
Adding descriptions of benefits in job ads can increase the apply rate by 22%, according to research by programmatic job advertising platform Appcast. However, only 52% of job descriptions include mention of benefits.
“Our analysis of apply rates reveals that certain benefits are more enticing to job seekers than others, depending on the industry or job function in which you’re hiring,” said Heather Salerno, senior VP of marketing at Appcast. “Unfortunately, our findings also indicate that nearly half of job ads make no mention of benefits in their job descriptions at all.”
Mentions of healthcare benefits — including health insurance, dental insurance, vision and mental health benefits — in job descriptions were, generally, associated with higher apply rates, according to Appcast. One caveat: Vision insurance was mentioned frequently in job descriptions, but there was no positive impact on apply rate.
Appcast also reported pet insurance seems to be growing in popularity, driving a 37% increase in apply rates. Appcast did note that pet insurance was most often mentioned in job descriptions containing four or more benefits.
Marketing and advertising jobs demonstrated the strongest correlation between increased apply rates and health insurance mentions — job descriptions that included this benefit saw an increase of nearly 50% in the average apply rate.
Within the healthcare industry, job descriptions that mentioned pet insurance saw an increase of nearly 70% in the average apply rate.
Upon studying the impact of additional compensation benefits on job advertising performance, Appcast found that including regular, incremental bonuses most dramatically increased apply rates. Despite employers’ efforts at enticing candidates with signing bonuses, “warehousing and logistics” was the only industry that saw a correlation between increased apply rates and signing bonus mentions.
Also, when job descriptions mentioned stock options or employee stock purchase plans, the ads yielded a higher apply rate across a variety of disciplines.
Including 401(k) in a job description is a draw for some disciplines, but this individual benefit, overall, did not have as dramatic of an impact on apply rates as others, Appcast noted.
Appcast’s research looked at a sample of 100,000 job descriptions across 23 industries/job functions from Jan. 1 to July 31.
GDP Hits Brakes in Q3, Slowest Growth Since Second Quarter of 2020
Daily News, October 28, 2021
Growth in the US real gross domestic product continued in the third quarter but at the slowest rate since the pandemic-hit second quarter of 2020, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis reported today. Separately, initial jobless claims declined to a new post-pandemic low.
GDP increased at an annual rate of 2.0% in the third quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis announced. That compares to growth of 6.7% in the second quarter of this year and marks the slowest growth since the second quarter of 2020 when GDP fell 31.2%.
GDP had grown since then, rising 33.8% in the third quarter of last year before rising 4.5% in the fourth quarter and 6.3% in the first quarter.
“The deceleration in real GDP in the third quarter was more than accounted for by a slowdown in [personal consumption expenditures],” according to the bureau. “From the second quarter to the third quarter, spending for goods turned down (led by motor vehicles and parts) and services decelerated (led by food services and accommodations).”
CNN noted the “sugar rush” of Covid stimulus checks faded but reported third-quarter growth was still lower than the 2.7% that economists had predicted.
Looking back 2 years ago, GDP growth was 2.8% in the third quarter of 2019.
Jobless claims
Initial jobless claims fell by 10,000 in the week ended Oct. 23 to a seasonally adjusted level of 281,000. It was the lowest level for initial claims since March 14, 2020, when they stood at 256,000.
The 4-week moving average of claims fell by 20,750 last week to a total of 299,250. It too was at a post-pandemic low. In comparison, the four-week moving average of claims was at 225,500 in the week ended March 14, 2020.
Senior-level Positions are Hardest to Fill, say 55% of Hiring Decision-Makers
Daily News, October 27, 2021
The hardest roles to fill are senior-level positions, according to 55% of US hiring decision-makers in a survey by Express Employment Professionals.
“Recruiting at all levels is difficult, but unskilled workers are slightly more available than other skill levels right now,” said Greg Sulentic, an Express franchise owner in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Express’ survey found that 68% of hiring decision-makers believe it will be easy to recruit for entry-level roles while 63% believe it will be easy to recruit for C-suite roles. When it comes to midlevel employees, just 56% believe it will be easy.
Senior-level positions are always difficult to fill in Sulentic’s market, but he said the drop in labor force participation has accelerated the trend even further. Midlevel roles are the ones he is truly worried about.
“I believe we will experience a massive shortage in the pipeline for mid-level employees that is even more extreme than what we are finding today,” he said. “This will be the result of the current shortage in employees entering the workforce and the lack of trained, skilled employees to move from entry-level to midlevel. However, senior-level will continue to be the most difficult simply due to an aging workforce retiring at greater rates.”
Express’ survey included 1,001 US hiring decision-makers and took place between March 23 and April 12.
7 in 10 Tech Employees May Quit in Next Year
Daily News, October 20, 2021
Tech workers across industries are ready to leave their jobs, according to a survey released by learning management system TalentLMS and hiring platform Workable. The report found that 72% of tech employees in the US are thinking of quitting their jobs in the next 12 months.
The top reasons for considering a job change, other than salary and benefits, are limited career progression (41%), a lack of flexibility in working hours (40%), followed by a toxic work environment (39%). Additionally, a lack of learning and development opportunities (32%) and remote work options (30%) are among the top reasons that drive tech employees away.
The survey also found 91% of tech employees stated that they want more training opportunities from their employers. Machine learning and artificial intelligence were the first choice, cited by 66%, followed by cloud-native development and block chain at 49% and 46% respectively.
Other key findings include:
- 58% of respondents say they suffer from job burnout. These employees are almost twice more likely to quit their job than those who don’t suffer from burnout.
- 75% feel that their company focuses more on attracting new employees than investing in the existing ones.
- Skills development (58%) is the top criterion other than salary and benefits when selecting a company to work for.
- 62% of respondents say more learning and training opportunities would make them more motivated at work.
“We’re no longer in a crazy time. We’re in new times, which calls for new rules of engagement when attracting talent — especially when recruiters and employers are struggling to fill roles,” said Workable Content Strategy Manager Keith MacKenzie. “The onus is now on employers to really step up their talent attraction game — and loosen the requirements for a role. There’s a huge path to get there: find and hire those top prospects and develop them when they’re with you.”
The online survey was conducted between Sept. 10 and Sept. 12; it included responses from 1,200 employees in the US who work in tech/IT/software departments and roles.
40% of Employed Americans Will Only Consider Remote or Hybrid Job Offers
Daily News, October 15, 2021
Spurred by the remote working environments brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, American employees may now be showing a greater interest in flexible work opportunities, including for companies based outside of their geographic regions, according to a survey released today by Yoh.
One in four employed Americans, 40%, reported that if they were looking for a job in the next few months, they would only consider work that was at least part time out of the traditional office; this includes 24% who said they would only consider hybrid work and 16% who would only consider remote work.
25% also said that if they were to consider a job in the next few months, they would consider a job outside of their geographical location if a remote opportunity presented itself.
Additional survey findings include:
Those in higher income households more likely to consider remote opportunities outside geographical area. Employees with an annual household income of $75,000 to $99,000 (31%) and $100,000-plus (27%) are more likely than those with an annual household income of less than $50,000 (17%) to say they would consider remote work outside of their geographical region if they were to consider a new job in the next few months.
Those in lower income households are more likely to consider in-person jobs. 21% of employed Americans with annual household incomes of less than $50,000 said that they would only consider strictly in-person job opportunities if they were considering a new job in the next few months, compared to only 8% of those with a household income of $75,000 to $99,900 and 11% of those with a household income of more than $100,000.
Married Americans more likely to be interested in hybrid work environments. 31% of employed, married Americans said that they would only consider hybrid (combination of in-person and remote work) job opportunities if they were to consider a new job in the next few months, compared to only 16% of unmarried, employed Americans.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way Americans work and, in turn, the workforce has become more open to, and could actually prefer, working remotely or on a hybrid basis. As indicated by the survey, it’s clear that companies looking to fill positions no longer need to limit candidate pools by location as some Americans are interested in remote work,” said Yoh President Emmett McGrath. “With this flexible workforce, employers can truly prioritize finding highly skilled candidates who are the best fit for the role and the company. Companies have an opportunity to expand their talent pools, however, it’s still a challenge to put the right processes in place to find, recruit and place them into their organization.”