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Heading into January, analysts were expecting the US to add roughly 185,000 jobs. But in recently released data from the Labor Department, it turns out the country actually added 517,000!
Furthermore, the unemployment rate sank to a historic low of 3.4%. This report directly contradicts the growing fears of a recession and what economists were expecting.
For comparison, 260,000 new jobs were added in December 2022.
So What Does This Mean for Talent Acquisition?
The long and short of it is recruiting top talent will continue to be highly competitive. While news of layoffs in the tech sector and other areas makes great headlines, the reality is that the job market remains historically strong.
Growth was strongest in the leisure and hospitality industries, meaning it will be especially difficult for companies in these fields to keep pace with hiring needs.
How You Can Stay Ahead of the Curve
The biggest takeaway for recruiters is that it’s vital to continue to think of innovative new ways to source candidates. Since the talent shortage isn’t going to go away on it’s own, it’s crucial to rethink the way we approach sourcing and recruiting to find new avenues to success.
LinkedIn and other social media are no longer viable sourcing strategies on their own. Instead, recruiting teams need to get creative and start looking for candidates in other online communities, at in-person events, and so forth.
In an Uncertain Economy, Rethink How You Support Your Teams
The uncertain nature of the economy makes it especially hard to handle resource planning for HR and recruiting teams.
If you staff too many people on your recruiting team, they’ll be a drain on your resources if hiring needs fall off.
But if you don’t staff enough people on your recruiting team, you’ll struggle to keep pace if hiring needs grow.
In these situations, it may make more sense to strike a balance with an internal recruiting team size that’s based on a middle-of-the-road projection for your hiring needs. If hiring needs end up exceeding your capabilities, you can augment your team with short-term project solutions or hourly recruiting support.
That way, if hiring needs drop down again after a few months or a couple quarters, you’re not paying recruiters who aren’t staying busy or laying anyone off.
It’s already been a challenging year for recruiting, whether it’s in difficulty planning for the future or battling a tough labor market. But with some out-of-the-box thinking and dedication, we can still deliver immense value by making amazing hires!
