The September Surge
When it comes to hiring, employers have relaxed a bit, and the labor market has cooled compared to last year. Recent revisions to the jobs reports showed the market wasn’t as strong as initially thought. But the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals a surprising surge in September!
The US economy added 254,000 jobs in September, far exceeding expectations and the forecast of 147,000 jobs. This significant growth highlights a resilient labor market that’s defying slowdown concerns.
The unemployment rate dropped to 4.1% in September, down from 4.2% in August, signaling a tightening labor market and continued economic strength.
The Federal Reserve’s recent decision to cut interest rates often influences the economy, and this strong jobs report could play a role in their next move. The Fed recently shifted focus from fighting inflation to supporting the labor market, with a 50-basis-point rate cut in mid-September.
This is excellent news for recruiting and hiring! Strong job growth and a lower unemployment rate point to a healthy economy, easing concerns about a potential recession.
(Read more at CNN)
Scary Stats
It’s October, and some scary reports recently came out. U.S. job seekers Resume Genius’s latest report revealed a spooky statistic: almost half of U.S. job seekers have lied on their resumes. After surveying 1,000 people, the study found that hiding career gaps is the top reason for this dishonesty, with 48% of respondents admitting to this.
Here are some key takeaways:
- 48% of job seekers have lied or considered lying on their resume.
- The most common lies are about career gaps (31%), job titles (30%), and employment duration (30%).
- Gen Z leads the pack, with 56% admitting they’ve considered lying, compared to 50% of Millennials, 40% of Gen X, and 37% of Boomers.
- Men are 1.5 times more likely to lie than women, particularly about their job titles—35% of men vs. 18% of women.
This October, honesty might be the best trick for landing your next treat of a job!
Recruitment Trends in 2023: The Global Economic Slowdown
As the global economy slows down, recruitment trends in 2023 are shifting in response. With economic growth expected to drop to 1.7%, factors like high inflation, tighter financial conditions, and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine are impacting hiring decisions across industries.
Here are the key impacts:
- Hiring Freezes & Layoffs: Many companies, particularly in the tech sector, have paused hiring or initiated layoffs, making the job market more competitive for candidates.
- Shift in Power: The balance is shifting back toward employers, allowing companies to be more selective in their hiring processes.
- Essential Roles Focus: Businesses prioritize hires for critical roles that contribute directly to growth and revenue, focusing on roles that bring immediate value.
- Remote & Hybrid Work: Remote work continues, but some companies are pushing for office returns, with hybrid work models becoming more common.
Staying informed and learn more:
AI’s Impact on HR: A Growing Challenge for Leadership
In a recent HRDive.com article, artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly used in the workplace, but HR departments and C-suite executives face challenges in implementing and managing its use. Despite AI’s growing presence, more than half of organizations surveyed still lack formal policies governing employees’ use of generative AI tools for work.
Here are the article takeaways:
- AI Policies: While 91% of respondents in a McKinsey report confirmed using AI for work purposes, most organizations do not have policies in place to regulate this usage.
- Legal Concerns: Over half of C-suite executives expressed concerns about potential AI-related litigation. The uncertainty around regulations has caused some companies to reduce AI use in HR.
- Current AI Use in HR: One-third of organizations report no AI use in HR. Among those utilizing AI, the primary use case is document creation for recruitment and onboarding, with some also applying AI in candidate sourcing and talent development.
The article stresses the importance of HR stepping up to actively shape AI policies within organizations.
(HRDive)
Preventing Candidate Ghosting: Key Strategies for Recruiters
Candidate ghosting—where applicants vanish during the hiring process—is becoming a major challenge for recruiters across industries. To tackle this issue, employers need to focus on better communication and treating candidates as valued individuals throughout the recruitment journey.
(SHRM)
Return-to-Office (RTO) Mandates: Insights from MyPerfectResume’s 2024 Survey
As companies like Amazon implement return-to-office (RTO) mandates, MyPerfectResume’s 2024 RTO Survey provides timely insights into how workers are feeling about these policies. The survey, which gathered responses from over 4,000 U.S.-based workers, revealed that 28% of employees have been threatened with termination if they don’t comply with their company’s RTO demands.
When asked why they believe companies are pushing for workers to return onsite, respondents pointed to several key factors:
- Control over workers: 77% feel companies want to exert more control.
- Productivity: 72% believe RTO is about improving productivity.
- Communication and collaboration: 71% think companies aim to enhance teamwork.
- Lack of trust: 64% feel there’s a trust issue at play.
- Forced attrition: 42% believe it’s a tactic to reduce staff without severance.
For more details, check out the report.
Symphony Talent Introduces AI-Powered Interview Genius
Symphony Talent, a leader in talent acquisition solutions, has launched Interview Genius, a groundbreaking AI-powered feature within its SFX On-Demand Interview platform. This innovative tool is set to transform the interview process by automatically generating structured, unbiased, and scientifically-backed interview questions tailored to specific roles.
With Interview Genius, companies can ensure fair and consistent interviews while making better, data-driven hiring decisions.
Rippling Launches AI-Powered Talent Signal for Performance Reviews
Rippling, a mid-market HR tech company, has unveiled Talent Signal, a new AI-powered product designed to revolutionize performance reviews. Talent Signal evaluates employee performance by analyzing work output data from enterprise platforms like GitHub, Salesforce, Gong, and Zendesk.
By leveraging data from these tools, the system provides a more objective and comprehensive assessment of employee performance, helping companies make informed decisions.
(Rippling)