If competition breeds innovation, it’s safe to say employers will be turning to new and creative ways to fill their hiring needs in 2019. Unemployment is low, competition for talent is high, and according to CareerBuilder’s annual Jobs Forecast, 40 percent of employers are planning to add full-time, permanent employees in 2019, and 47 percent say they plan to hire part-time or contract workers.
Competing for Talent
Employers’ hiring expectations for both full-time and part-time or contract positions dipped ever so slightly – each by just 4 percentage points – from last year. Meanwhile, the percentage of human resource managers who say they have open positions for which they can’t find qualified candidates increased by 5 percentage points, from 45 percent in 2018 to 50 percent this year.
With more employers struggling to fill open roles and the unemployment rate consistently hovering near all-time lows, employers are feeling the heat of intense competition for quality talent.
However, that’s not to say there aren’t great candidates ready to take on those roles. Across all skills levels, 32 percent of workers are looking to change jobs in 2019. Low compensation or a lack of benefits (15 percent) and poor company culture (10 percent) are among the top reasons employees give for seeking new opportunities.
Higher pay is generally one of the most effective ways for employers to attract job seekers – generally, but not always. In the survey, workers indicated that factors like location (56 percent), affordable benefits plans (55 percent), job stability (55 percent), a good boss (48 percent), and good work culture (44 percent) can be more important than salary when considering a position.
Hot Areas for Hiring
For many businesses, making the most of new and emerging technologies can create a key competitive advantage. So it’s not surprising that staying on top of the latest tech will be a driving force behind much of this year’s hiring. The study found that employers are looking to fill positions in a few key business areas, including:
- Jobs tied to skilled labor: 25 percent
- Jobs tied to data analysis: 21 percent
- Jobs tied to digital marketing: 12 percent
- Jobs tied to cyber security: 11 percent
- Jobs tied to AI and machine learning: 10 percent
- Jobs tied to healthy living: 10 percent
“Technological innovation will continue to be a driving force in defining the labor market for both in-demand jobs and how companies recruit for open roles,” said Irina Novoselsky, CEO of CareerBuilder. “At CareerBuilder, we’re excited to be at the forefront of developing technologies to streamline the hiring process and make finding the right candidates more effective and efficient.”
