Filling Jobs Is Going to Get Even Harder This Year

With fears of a recession ebbing, job growth this year is expected to be a repeat of last year.

The non-profit business research group The Conference Board says that though cautious, employers will continue adding jobs in 2020. “We expect job growth to remain solid and the labor market to continue tightening,” said Gad Levanon, head of The Conference Board Labor Markets Institute.

The Conference Board’s Employment Trends Index, flat since mid-2018, tells us the pace of hiring hasn’t changed over the last 18 months. However, the nation’s readily available labor pool, reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in its U-6 rate is at a historic low 6.7%. U6 includes the officially unemployed, those working part-time who want full-time work and those who are out of work, but not included in the official unemployed count.

What this means for employers, even those who are dialing back job growth, is that filling openings is not going to be any easier in 2020 than it was last year. If anything, it’s likely to be even more difficult.

We’ve pulled the hiring and voluntary quit rates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to illustrate the hiring difficulty. At a glance, the chart tells the story of what’s been happening. As hiring increased after the recession ended, the rate at which workers quit increased. At the pace workers voluntary quit during the first 11 months of 2019, the rate for the whole year will be about 31%. On average, almost a third of the nation’s workforce quit, most to take another job.

That gap you see between the quits rate and the hires rate explains why employers are having such difficulty filling vacancies. Up to now, the slack has been filled by hiring new workers, the unemployed and those who had been on the employment sidelines, not looking for a job, maybe not even wanting one, but now deciding to accept one.

But that has still not been enough to fill all the jobs, which is why the number of openings is at near historic highs and the time to fill is creeping up.

Consider yourself lucky if your turnover is low and filling openings hasn’t been especially difficult. Every industry is different. The numbers here are national averages.

The bottom line, however, is that retaining workers and filling jobs is not going to get any easier this year, and is likely to get even more difficult. Now would be a good time to give us a call here at Green Key Resources to discuss your hiring needs. You may not have an opening today, but it pays to be prepared. Because our recruiters are specialists, we know where the best people are. So when you are ready to hire, we can move fast.

Give us a call at 212.683.1988 and be prepared.

Is Covid-19 Back or Are We Just Seeing a Surge in Cases?
General Interest Healthcare Pharma

Is Covid-19 Back or Are We Just Seeing a Surge in Cases?

Strategic Networking: A Secret Weapon in Job Searching
Accounting + Finance Architecture + Engineering Financial Services General Interest Healthcare Human Resources Information Technology Legal Support Marketing Technology Pharma Professional Support

Strategic Networking: A Secret Weapon in Job Searching

#WeAreGreenKey: Spotlight on Justin Nadelman
General Interest Green Key News Information Technology Leadership + Management

#WeAreGreenKey: Spotlight on Justin Nadelman

Navigating the Tech Interview Maze: A Guide to Success
General Interest Information Technology

Navigating the Tech Interview Maze: A Guide to Success

Green Key Unlocked: How to Succeed in Payroll Management
Accounting + Finance General Interest Human Resources Leadership + Management

Green Key Unlocked: How to Succeed in Payroll Management

#WeAreGreenKey: Spotlight on Jenny Rehkugler
Accounting + Finance General Interest

#WeAreGreenKey: Spotlight on Jenny Rehkugler

Handling Mistakes & Failure in the Workplace
General Interest Worklife

Handling Mistakes & Failure in the Workplace

How to Support Those Affected by Hawai’i Wildfires 
Green Key News

How to Support Those Affected by Hawai’i Wildfires 

#WeAreGreenKey: Spotlight on Halle Sarfin
Green Key News Professional Support

#WeAreGreenKey: Spotlight on Halle Sarfin

Advantages of Offering Exit Interviews
General Interest Human Resources

Advantages of Offering Exit Interviews

Tracking Metrics: Learning & Development
General Interest Leadership + Management Worklife

Tracking Metrics: Learning & Development

#WeAreGreenKey: Spotlight on Leanna Gallagher
Green Key News Human Resources

#WeAreGreenKey: Spotlight on Leanna Gallagher

How to Beat the Summer Productivity Slump
General Interest Leadership + Management Worklife

How to Beat the Summer Productivity Slump

Questions to Ask When Hiring a Recruiter
General Interest Leadership + Management Worklife

Questions to Ask When Hiring a Recruiter

#WeAreGreenKey: Spotlight on Chianté Vidal
Architecture + Engineering Green Key News

#WeAreGreenKey: Spotlight on Chianté Vidal

Celebrating 10 Years of GKR in Rockville
Green Key News Leadership + Management Professional Support

Celebrating 10 Years of GKR in Rockville

Internal Mobility: Retaining Top Talent
General Interest

Internal Mobility: Retaining Top Talent

Green Key Unlocked: The Future of Telemedicine & Virtual Healthcare
General Interest Healthcare Information Technology

Green Key Unlocked: The Future of Telemedicine & Virtual Healthcare

#WeAreGreenKey: Spotlight on Melissa Sanchez
General Interest Green Key News Healthcare Leadership + Management

#WeAreGreenKey: Spotlight on Melissa Sanchez

#WeAreGreenKey: Spotlight on Rory Valan
General Interest Green Key News Information Technology Worklife

#WeAreGreenKey: Spotlight on Rory Valan

Latest Blog Posts
View All Posts
Is Covid-19 Back or Are We Just Seeing a Surge in Cases?

Is Covid-19 Back or Are We Just Seeing a Surge in Cases?

With the recent increase in hospitalizations and Covid-19 cases across the U.S. the question of How to protect ourselves and...
Read More
Strategic Networking: A Secret Weapon in Job Searching

Strategic Networking: A Secret Weapon in Job Searching

Networking is more than connecting with other professionals on LinkedIn or collecting contacts; it's about building relationships that can lead...
Read More
#WeAreGreenKey: Spotlight on Justin Nadelman

#WeAreGreenKey: Spotlight on Justin Nadelman

Almost seven years since he first joined Green Key, Justin has seized many growth opportunities in his role and truly...
Read More