HR Market Update
Macroeconomic trends continue to take center stage, as employers continued hiring at a strong pace last month in an increasingly tight labour market, with 40k jobs added in May.
The unemployment rate has dropped further from 5.3% to 5.1%, the lowest since 1976 when this data was first collected. Along with this, the average hourly wage rate was up 3.9% year-over-year, accelerating from 3.3% in April. Add to this three interest rate hikes so far this year with expectations of more to come and you have major macroeconomic factors that are top of mind in the executive suite.
So what does this mean for HR professionals and the HR marketplace?
What's Your Workforce Strategy?
We mentioned in our May update that some HR leaders were being asked by the C-suite about their Workforce Strategy for the next 12-18 months. This is now less of an ask and more of a requirement. As part of this, we have seen a strong increase in demand for our Career Transition and Outplacement solutions. When change happens, companies want to make sure that their people are taken care of, and we’re here to be their point of support and help them find their next opportunity and realize their potential.
The Battle Royale for Talent
The rumblings of hiring softness we wrote about last month in the financial and real estate industry have now started to manifest, as companies in these sectors have started to plan and institute hiring freezes. Along with this, some technology companies are also scaling back the number of open roles, some as high as 85%. Still, for the job postings that remain open, competition is intense for quality candidates in strategically important roles, which we have been able to help fill. Salaries are being bid ever higher and companies are now coming to us to help them re-align their compensation plans, enrich their employee value proposition and build proactive retention strategies.
Hiring vs. Developing Talent
With the increasing costs of hiring and the risks of recession, companies are also weighing the costs and benefits of hiring talent externally vs. developing talent internally, with the added advantage that team development is also a highly effective tool in talent retention and increasing employee engagement and productivity. As some companies have mandated their people to return to the office, many others have decided to adopt alternative working models such as hybrid and full remote. With these different models come new sets of challenges and opportunities. Our Hybrid Team Effectiveness and Leading Hybrid Teams workshops are in high demand, as employers seek to not just adapt, but embrace the advantages and benefits of this new and different way of working.
Do you have a robust Workforce Strategy? Are you winning the battle for talent? Have you done the cost-benefit analysis on Hiring vs. Developing Talent? We’re here to help. Reach out to Greg Vertelman, Chief Growth Officer and Career Transition Practice Leader and let’s have a quick sounding-board conversation
