What’s #trending in the workforce??

Unemployment rates are staggeringly low in the United States at only 3.6%. In California, this figure is slightly higher at 3.9% but still reflects a booming economy. According to California’s employment development department, between September and October of 2019 there were increases in the labor force, employment rate, and Non-farm jobs.  At the same time, unemployment dropped.

While this is great news for us regular people, companies are having a difficult time hiring, complaining of a talent shortage. To make up for this challenge, they use different strategies to attract qualified candidates like increasing signing bonuses, especially for candidates with post-graduate education. In addition, they’ve recently been more likely to hire based on skills rather than education, according to the hiring trends laid out by the US Chamber of Commerce.

We see a relationship between our own work as a staffing agency and these economic trends. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects an 8% increase in “gig workers” in 2020, reaching 43%. What’s more, the workforce is about to be full of young people. In 2020, we expect that more than half of US jobs will be filled by millennials.

Based on employment projections from the state of California, in Sonoma County, Employment in state government is supposed to grow just under 19% between 2016 and 2026. Transportation, warehouse and utilities should grow 20%. All of these projections are positive for you, the worker.

https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ecopro.pdf

Even though these numbers are helpful, some more practical information might be about hiring trends. Maybe you’ve noticed that companies have been more clear about pay. Also, in this digital age, apparently candidates are more swayed by company reviews. Sound familiar? The big takeaway is that both the US and California economies are doing quite well. All numbers point to work, whether it be flexible or more permanent. The future is bright!

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