Lionzone

January was an incredible month for job growth, coming in at 517,000 new Nonfarm payrolls. With the market estimating that that number was going to come in at 187,000, experts are blown away this morning. The U.S. is at the lowest jobless level since May of 1969, so we’re seeing record low unemployment levels. Unemployment dropped slightly to 5.7 million, coming down to 3.4% from the previous month. (December’s number were adjusted later in January to be 3.5-3.6%.) The number of jobs per person didn’t change from the just under two jobs available for unemployed December in November. Transportation and Warehouse openings rose to an impressive 23,000 in December. As the Federal Reserve continues to try and mitigate these inflationary trends with increases to the interest rates, there are still concerns that the labor market is still out of balance. A recession could still possibly be on the horizon, but today’s numbers are making many hopeful that it can be avoided.

Every business wants to recruit top talent to work at their company. The only question is how to go about it. In a market where there are still 1.5-1.7 jobs open per unemployed person, employees have the choice of where to work. By maintaining an excellent employer brand and by formulating a solid recruitment marketing strategy, you are on your way to staffing your company with the people you want and need to succeed.

“Retention” is the word on every business owner’s lips this year, and it can be overwhelming to start looking into tips on how to succeed when it comes to keeping the talent your company has already worked so hard to win. However, groups like the World Economic Forum remind business owners that money can’t buy loyalty in times like these where employees are looking for a more well-rounded career that gives more than just a paycheck.

The December Jobs Report and the November Job Opening and Turnover Survey are still only showing minor signs of the decrease in inflationary pressures desired by the Federal Reserve. It is still a job seekers market, but, with a shallow recession still on the horizon in 2023 according to experts, expectations of job seekers will need to be managed to take that into account.

Turnover is a huge issue in the trucking industry. Turnover rates are between 95-100%, or often even higher for many carriers. With the cost to replace a driver being upwards of $13,932, retention is vital to your company's success. Understanding why drivers job hop and implementing strategies to combat this are key to a healthy bottom line and a motivated workforce. Today, we will discuss the issues at the heart of why drivers job hop, how their problems compare to employees other industries, and some steps you can take to combat job hopping.