US employers are boosting their salary increase projections for this year, according to a survey taken of 1,004 US companies in October and November by WTW, the new brand for Willis Towers Watson.

It found that nearly a third of US companies increased their salary projections from earlier in the year. Companies are now budgeting an overall average salary increase of 3.4% this year compared with the average 3.0% increase they had budgeted in June.

“There’s a great reprioritization of work, rewards and careers underway, and it’s putting significant pressure on compensation programs for many employers,” said Catherine Hartmann, North America rewards practice leader at WTW.

This year’s increase was already above the average pay increase of 2.8% in 2021.

Employees in these five industries are expected to see the largest salary increases in 2022 compared with their actual increases in 2021:

• Retail and wholesale trade: 2.8% to 3.6%
• Finance: 2.7% to 3.5%
• Life and health insurance: 2.7% to 3.5%
• Energy: 2.6% to 3.4%
• Industrial manufacturing: 2.6% to 3.4%

The survey found that 74% cited the tight labor markets for their increased salary budgets while only 34% cited stronger financial results and 31% cited inflation or the rising cost of suppliers.

Source: Staffing Industry Analysts

December’s job report saw a gain of 199,000 nonfarm jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly employment report. Employment gains happened in leisure and hospitality, in professional and business services,
in manufacturing, in construction, and in transportation and warehousing.

December’s unemployment rate declined to 3.9%, down from 4.2% in November. The civilian labor force participation is 61.9%, unchanged from November, but remains 1.5% lower than in February of 2020. 

The report found that average hourly earnings for employees on private, nonfarm payrolls rose by 19 cents to $31.31. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 4.7%.

A job search or career change is on the horizon for many US adults, according to the results of an American Staffing Association Workforce Monitor survey.

Forty-one percent of those surveyed said they are likely to look for a new job within the next year and 35% are likely to change careers. And 63% say pay rate/salary would be among the most important factors if they were to look for a change.

“In the midst of the Great Resignation, employed individuals as well as active job seekers are looking at new opportunities for higher pay and more flexibility,” said ASA President and CEO Richard Wahlquist. “If employers want to effectively compete in the war for talent, they’re going to have ensure their workers receive competitive compensation and that workplaces embrace flexible work schedules wherever feasible.”

The survey also asked what key factors were most important to them if they were looking for a new job within the next year. The top five results:
• Pay rate/salary: 63%
• Flexible hours: 37%
• Benefits/perks: 36%
• Option to work remotely: 25%
• Job duties: 22% 

Source: Staffing Industry Analysts

The US manufacturing sector continued to expand in October, although hiring difficulties show no signs of easing, according to the Institute of Supply Management’s October 2021 “Manufacturing ISM Report on Business.” The report is based on a survey of manufacturing supply executives.

“Meeting demand remains a challenge, due to hiring difficulties and a clear cycle of labor turnover: As workers opt for more attractive job opportunities, panelists’ companies and their suppliers struggle to maintain employment levels,” said Timothy Fiore, chair of the Institute for Supply Management’s Manufacturing Business Survey Committee.

An overwhelming majority of panelists indicate their companies are hiring or attempting to hire; 90% of employment index comments were about seeking additional staffing. Twenty-eight percent of those respondents expressed difficulty in filling positions.

Overall, the US manufacturing sector continued to grow in October. The Manufacturing PMI announced in the report was at a reading of 60.8% in October — down from a reading of 61.1% in September but still indicative of growth. Readings over 50% indicate manufacturing economy is expanding.

The Manufacturing PMI is a composite index based on the diffusion indexes of five of the indexes with equal weights: new orders, production, employment, supplier deliveries and inventories. Of those, only inventories is not seasonally adjusted.

Source: Staffing Industry Analysts

SHRM (The Society for Human Resource Management) shared findings from a new survey, 2021 SHRM Surviving the Great Resignation, that highlights the needs and rationale of workers – loyalists – who chose to stay with their current employer amid
a wave of job resignations that is sweeping the country, leaving no industry, position
or experience level unaffected.

“Employees are leaving their jobs to pursue new opportunities in record numbers,
making hiring and retaining talent a significant challenge for employers across
the country,” said Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP, SHRM’s President and Chief
Executive Officer.

While the great resignation is showing no signs of slowing down, there are plenty
of loyalists who decided to remain in their role. Following their former colleagues’
exits, more than half (52%) of those who chose to stay say that they’ve had to take
on more work and responsibilities. These workers are now left to reconsider their
options as 30% report struggling to get necessary work done, 27% feel less loyalty
to their organization, 28% feel more lonely or isolated, and more than half (55%) now
wonder if their pay is high enough.

Business leaders are taking steps to combat the great resignation by offering more
competitive benefits for both new recruits and remaining employees. More than half
of organizations (58%) report that beyond normal yearly increases, they are offering
higher starting salaries and wages than last year. Among HR professionals who said
their organization has seen higher or much higher turnover in the past six months,
42% said their organization has implemented new or additional remote work or
flexibility options to reduce turnover, 32% have increased employee referral bonuses
and 28% have introduced new or additional merit increases.

Read the full article at https://bit.ly/30EFVIK

Source: SHRM

A Gartner Inc. survey found that 91% of HR leaders are concerned about employee turnover in the coming months and another Gartner survey found 50% of employees hired over the past 12 months have received at least two additional job offers.

The former survey included 572 HR leaders and took place in July. The candidate survey included 1,609 job seekers and took place between May and June.

“As the economy continues to recover from the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations are facing a very different — and extremely competitive — job market than years past,” said Jamie Kohn, research director in the Gartner HR practice. “While many are experiencing a record number of open roles, companies are also trying to mitigate pent-up employee turnover.”

Gartner recommends that for employers to stay competitive, they should consider different forms of flexibility such as work hours, location and length of workweek. HR leaders must also help managers conceptualize the potential career paths of their direct reports generally, not just specific next steps. HR leaders must also identify long-term talent gaps at the organizational level and partner with business leaders to acquire the skills.

“Organizations often overlook the potential within their own organization,” said Kohn. “Improving internal mobility can help employers find employees with adjacent skills; boost diversity, equity and inclusion; and tap into nontraditional talent pools that are outside customary recruiting hot spots.”

Source: Staffing Industry Analysts

Job satisfaction in the skilled trades remains high, with 83% of tradespeople satisfied in
their choice of work, according to B2C platform Angi’s second annual Skilled Trades in
America Report. However, skilled trades still face a worsening labor shortage, with more than three-quarters of tradespeople, 77%, viewing it as a problem that has worsened over the last year.

“On one side, you have disengaged workers leaving their jobs and on the other you have skilled home tradespeople saying they are happy because they find meaning and value in their work, making it a unique and opportune time to attract new talent to these careers, while also improving employee engagement across the country,” said Oisin Hanrahan, CEO of Angi.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for home services has steadily increased and the skilled trades have been experiencing a chronic labor shortage. And Angi’s report found the perception among tradespeople is that the shortage continues
to worsen. Sixty-eight percent of tradespeople have struggled to hire skilled workers
and more than one-third, 35%, are slightly or extremely understaffed. Over half of
tradespeople, 52%, say a lack of available workers is stunting their growth and 68% say
they could grow their business if they could find more available workers.
In addition, 27% of skilled trade workers are within 10 years of the social security
retirement age of 62.

Diversifying recruitment efforts as a key part of the solution to overcoming the labor
shortage, according to the report.

The report was compiled based on Angi analysis of American Community Survey Public
Use Microdata and two surveys of 2,400 skilled tradespeople conducted between Aug. 4
and Aug.17. Each survey had 1,200 participants.

Source: Staffing Industry Analysts

November’s job report saw a gain of 210,000 nonfarm jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly employment report. Employment gains happened in professional and business services, transportation and warehousing, construction, and manufacturing. Employment in retail trade declined.

November’s unemployment rate declined to 4.2%, down from 4.6% in October. The civilian labor force participation was 61.8%, slightly up from 61.6% in October.

The report found that average hourly earnings for employees on private, nonfarm payrolls rose by 8 cents to $31.03.

October’s job report saw a gain of 531,000 nonfarm jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly employment report. Employment gains happened in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, in manufacturing, and in transportation and warehousing. Employment in public education declined.

October’s unemployment rate declined to 4.6%, down from 4.8% in September. The civilian labor force participation was 61.6%, unchanged from September.

The report found that average hourly earnings for employees on private, nonfarm payrolls rose by 11 cents to $30.96.

The labor shortage that we are facing will continue for years to come. As more baby boomers exit the workforce, there are simply not enough workers to replace them. Coupled with low birth rates and low labor force participation rates, there isn't an easy immediate fix to the problem. 

The article The Demographic Drought, produced by EMSI and written by Ron Hetrick, Hannah Grieser, Rob Sentz, Clare Coffey and Gwen Burrow, shows "how the approaching sansdemic will transform the labor market for the rest of our lives."

September’s job report saw a gain of 194,000 nonfarm jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly employment report. Employment gains happened in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, retail trade and in transportation and warehousing. Employment in public education declined.

September’s unemployment rate declined to 4.8%, down from 5.2% in August. The civilian labor force participation was 61.6%, little changed from 61.7% in August.

The report found that average hourly earnings for employees on private, nonfarm payrolls rose by 19 cents to $30.85.

President Biden recently launched the “Path Out of The Pandemic Action Plan.” One of
the elements of the plan states that any company with over 100 employees either require their employees to be vaccinated or have a process for weekly testing to be conducted for the unvaccinated.

QPS, like all staffing companies, counts all of our associate employees in our headcount, not just those working at one location. Customers like yourself may fall into either category.

• If you have less than 100 employees and do not need to follow this rule, we will work
  to be sure our employees remain compliant.
• On the other hand, if you are a company with 100 plus internal employees, you will
  be required to perform the same requirements as QPS, and we would like to help you
  with that strategy and partner together.

OSHA will issue an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) to implement this expected
new rule. It is expected that this rule will impact over 80 million workers in the private
sector. The announcement included a statement that the rule will include the requirement for employers to provide paid time off for the time employees take to get vaccinated or to recover if they experience post-vaccination side effects.

As you can imagine, there are many unanswered questions. We don’t have the actual
OSHA rule itself yet and can only hope it will provide clarity.

• You may read about the COVID-19 Action Plan here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/
  covidplan/#vaccinate
• You may monitor OSHA developments here: https://www.osha.gov/

With this new curveball being thrown, we are closely watching, planning and will keep
both yourself and our associates informed with the latest as we understand it.

August’s job report saw a gain of 235,000 nonfarm jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly employment report. Employment gains happened in professional and business services, transportation and warehousing, private education, manufacturing, and other services. Employment in retail trade declined over the month.

August’s unemployment rate declined to 5.2%, down from 5.4% in July. The civilian labor force participation was 61.7%, unchanged from July.

The report found that average hourly earnings for employees on private, nonfarm payrolls rose by 17 cents to $30.73.

Strong job growth in the US will continue, according to The Conference Board Employment Trends Index. However, a tight labor market will also remain.

“The Employment Trends Index remained on its historically strong upward trajectory, suggesting rapid job growth is likely to continue over the next several months,” said Gad Levanon, head of The Conference Board Labor Markets Institute. “This high mark comes off the back of nearly 1 million new jobs added in both June and July and a steep decline in the unemployment rate.

However, recruiting and retention difficulties — and rapid wage growth — are
expected through the summer, particularly in industries key to the reopening of
the economy, such as food service and leisure and hospitality.”

Levanon noted the rapid wage growth is likely to lead to higher inflation in the
coming year and despite the still-high unemployment rate, many employers are
having difficulty finding qualified workers. According to the National Federation
of Independent Business, 49% of firms reported being unable to fill open
positions in July — an all-time high.

For many of those currently unemployed, job-search intensity remains low due to an array of factors, according to Levanon. These include enhanced unemployment benefits, fears of getting infected, a lack of childcare, and interest in pursuing and preparing for a different type of career.

“Going forward, we do expect economic activity in in-person services to be negatively impacted by the current resurgence of infections fueled by the delta variant,” he said. “While this delta wave may produce slight slowdowns in hiring, we expect job growth to remain very strong overall.”

Source: Staffing Industry Analysts

July’s job report saw a gain of 943,000 nonfarm jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly employment report. Employment gains happened in leisure and hospitality, in local government education and in professional and business services.

July’s unemployment rate declined to 5.4%, down from 5.% in June. The civilian labor force participation was 61.7%, little changed from 61.6% in June.

The report found that average hourly earnings for employees on private, nonfarm payrolls rose by 11 cents to $30.54.

Pay rate is the most important criteria temporary workers use to decide whether to take an offered assignment, according to a report by Staffing Industry Analysts. However, other factors also matter.

“With the labor market as tight as it is right now, staffing firms will need to not just match candidate to assignment but sell the candidate on accepting the assignment,” said Jon Osborne, SIA’s VP strategic research and the author of the report. “The temp preferences identified here should be used to help craft that messaging.”

Temporary workers were asked, “When considering whether to take a newly offered assignment, what are your three most important criteria?” While 90% said pay rate was among their top three assignment criteria, more than half of respondents also cited “location of assignment” and “working conditions/company culture.”

Share of temporary workers citing selected options as a top three
assignment criteria:

• Pay rate: 90%
• Location of assignment: 63%
• Working conditions/company culture: 54%
• Work/life balance (flexible hours, option to work from home): 43%
• Close match to your skills: 34%
• Training offered: 9%

The queries were part of SIA’s 2021 Temporary Worker Survey conducted in late 2020, which reflects the opinions of 2,223 temporary worker respondents from 21 staffing firms.

Source: Staffing Industry Analysts

Hiring bonuses appear to be an effective way to get more of the unemployed back to work, according to a survey by the US Chamber of Commerce. It found that 39% of unemployed Americans who lost their jobs during the pandemic and are not actively looking for work say that a $1,000 hiring bonus would increase their urgency to return to full-time employment. It was the most appealing solution for hesitant-to-return workers.

The poll included 506 Americans who lost their jobs during the pandemic and have not returned to full-time employment. It was conducted from May 17 to May 20.

The percentage who say hiring bonuses could attract them back to the job market was particularly high among unemployed workers age 25 to 34 (53%) and those with some college education but not a degree (49%).

Other incentives included work-from-home flexibility, picked by 32%, and worker vaccination requirements, picked by 23%.

Separately, Indeed released data showing that 4.1% of job postings in the week ended June 18th contained hiring incentives, up from 1.8% in the same week last year, Yahoo reported. “Job seekers are able to have a little wiggle room and be able to shop around a little bit more,” AnnElizabeth Konkel, an economist at Indeed Hiring Lab, told Yahoo Finance Live. “Employers are increasingly offering hiring incentives that can be anything from signing bonuses to retention bonuses to cash incentives.”

Source: Staffing Industry Analysts

June’s job report saw a gain of 850,000 nonfarm jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly employment report. Employment gains happened in leisure and hospitality, in public and private education, in professional and business services, and retail trade.

June’s unemployment rate rose to 5.9%, up slightly from 5.8% in May. The civilian labor force participation was 61.6%, unchanged from May.

The report found that average hourly earnings for employees on private, nonfarm payrolls rose by 10 cents to $30.40.

More U.S. workers are quitting their jobs than at any time in at least two decades. In April, the share of U.S. workers leaving jobs was 2.7%, according to the Labor Department, a jump from 1.6% a year earlier to the highest level since at least 2000. So why is it happening?

1. Human resource executives and labor experts foresee a wave of resignations in the coming months and years. 

In a March survey of 2,000 workers by Prudential Financial Inc., one-quarter of respondents said they plan to soon look for a role with a different employer. “People are
seeing the world differently,” says Steve Cadigan, a talent consultant who led human
resources at LinkedIn during its early years. “It’s going to take time for people to think
through, ‘How do I unattach where I’m at and reattach to something new?’ We’re going
to see a massive shift in the next few years.”

2. There are a number of reasons why people are quitting their jobs, including a desire for more flexible work arrangements and burnout from extra pandemic workloads.

 Many people are pushing back against a return to business as usual. Some prefer the
flexibility of remote work while others are reluctant to be in an office before the virus is
vanquished. Some workers are burned out from extra pandemic workloads and stress,
and others are looking for higher pay.

3. Employers are trying to head off the loss of talent.

Employers are seeing turnover with their newest employees. At Schneider Electric North America, 65% of the employees identified as high potential got promotions or new roles in 2020, said Mai Lan Nguyen, the industrial company’s senior vice president for human resources. “We’re all on our toes. The best talent out there have many options,” she said.

Read the full article at https://on.wsj.com/3zKz8dn

Source: Wall Street Journal

May’s job report saw a gain of 559,000 nonfarm jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly employment report. Employment gains happened in leisure and hospitality, in public and private education, and in health care and social assistance.

May’s unemployment rate declined to 5.8%, down from 6.1% in April. The civilian labor force participation was 61.6%, slightly down from 61.7% in April.

The report found that average hourly earnings for employees on private, nonfarm payrolls rose by 15 cents to $30.33.