The key takeaway from these two recent reports is that there is light at the end of the tunnel; Covid is loosening its hold on our economy, with more people looking to reenter the workforce, and the telework level is dropping.
We also see that stats show the Great Resignation is still in effect. There are still more job openings than people unemployed; it remains a job-seekers market. Companies need to adapt their recruitment marketing to compete for the best candidates.
February's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey
The February Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey, released on March 29, 2022, showed little to no change in the number of job openings in February, sitting at 11.3 million. Hires have increased, but there was little to no change in the quit rate (4.4 million, 2.9%).
There were three industries, finance, insurance, and nondurable goods manufacturing, that decreased the number of job openings. However, job openings have increased in the sectors of arts, entertainment and recreation, educational service, and the federal government.
Quit rates changed little across all industries, but three sectors increased their quit rates: retail, durable goods manufacturing, and education. Decreases were shown in finance and insurance.
The takeaway from this report should be that the Great Resignation is still in full swing. With roughly 1.78 jobs openings for each unemployed person, it remains an employee-driven job market. Employees are not afraid to leave their current positions for better pay, flexibility, and benefits.
March's Jobs Report
March's job report, released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on April 1, 2022, shows encouraging signs across the board. Non-farm payroll increased by 431,000, averaging 562,000 per month for the first quarter of 2022. Employment is nearing its pre-pandemic benchmark, just 1% away from its February 2020 levels.
Women have been some of the hardest hit due to the pandemic, and their return to the job market shows that the impact of the pandemic is easing. While there was little change in unemployment levels for men, teenagers, and across ethnic groups, one group did see a change in March, women. Unemployment for women dropped by 3.3%.
In March, the labor force participation rate was little changed at 62.4%. However, the employment to population ratio increased by .2% to 60.1%. These metrics are still below their pre-pandemic levels of 63.4% and 61.2%, respectively.
Pandemic-related figures, telework, unemployment, or unwillingness to re-enter the workforce due to Covid metrics are dropping. Teleworking dropped from 13% in February to 10% in March. The number of people unable to work due to their employer being impacted by Covid dropped by more than half. The number of people prevented from looking for work due to the pandemic dropped from 1.2 million to 874,000.
While some industries, Leisure and Hospitality (down 1.5 million jobs), Manufacturing (down 278,000 jobs), and Healthcare (down 298,000 jobs), have not yet returned to their pre-pandemic levels, several industries have returned and/or surpassed this benchmark, including Professional and Business Services (up 723,000), Retail (up 278,000), Financial Services (up 41,000) and Transportation and Warehousing (up 608,000).
Payroll continues to rise, growing 13 cents in March to an average of $31.73. This is a 12-month increase of 5.6%. The average workweek fell in March by .1 hours to 34.6.
Conclusion
The impact of covid is decreasing steadily. As life returns to normal, more people are willing and able to return to the job market. This will ease the massive shortage of workers seen across multiple industries. What is not likely to change in the near future is that it is an employee’s market. With more job openings than unemployed people, the balance of power in the job marketplace will stay in the hands of the job seekers for the foreseeable future.
For companies, this means re-evaluating their recruitment marketing. There are many options out there; to win the top talent, you have to show them why you are the best option. Companies must focus on their employer branding to be competitive.
If you need assistance with your recruitment marketing, Lionzone is here to help. Contact us today for your free consultation https://lionzone.com/recruitment-marketing or 615-235-3200.
Resources:
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/29/there-are-now-a-record-5-million-more-job-openings-than-unemployed-people-in-the-us.html#:~:text=Job%20openings%20edged%20lower%20to,as%20the%20Great%20Resignation%20persisted.
