Jobs Report Trends for Hiring Managers

Hiring has fundamentally changed over the last few years. Here's what our data reveals: 1. Hiring is starting to come back with a modest rebound After a steep decline in 2023 (-28.1% YoY), hiring growth rebounded slightly in 2024 (+5.8% YoY). Smaller companies (<500 FTE) saw the largest relative increase. 2. Recruiting teams are leaner than ever before The average recruiter headcount per team has noticeably declined, from 31 in 2022 to 24 in 2024. Team resources were still shrinking in 2024 despite a resurgence in hiring activity. 3. Doing more with less is a reality The average recruiter manages 56% more job reqs (14) and 2.7× more applications (2,500+) than 3 years ago. AI and automation are key investments for teams looking to avoid burnout. 4. Teams are taking longer to hire with more interviews Hiring teams are conducting 42% more interviews per hire than in 2021 (20 vs. 14)... …contributing to a 24% increase in average time to hire (41 vs. 33 days). 5. Post-and-pray is popular, yet inefficient Job boards and social sites dominate the application pool, accounting for nearly half (49.0%) of all applications. Yet, they contribute less than a quarter (24.6%) of actual hires. 6. Sourcing continues to attract the best talent A sourced (outbound) applicant is 5x more likely to be hired than an inbound applicant is… …demonstrating that sourcing talent is one of the most efficient strategies to hire top-tier talent. 7. Talent rediscovery is the key to building deep, qualified pipelines The proportion of hires that are rediscovered within companies' CRM or ATS has shown a clear upward trend… …rising from 29.1% in 2021 to 44.0% in 2024. 8. If you're a candidate, getting hired is harder than ever A prospective applicant is 3x less likely to get hired for a role today compared to 3 years ago. 9. Offer-acceptance rates are on the rise Candidates are now slightly more likely to accept job offers (84%) than they were during the pandemic and the Great Resignation (81% in 2021)... …signaling an increased willingness to commit to new opportunities. 10. Mixed results in diversity hiring highlight ongoing opportunities While women see higher success in later interview stages, they face lower passthrough rates at the top of the funnel. Conversion rates vary across racial and ethnic groups, with notable differences by industry and department. 💡 Want to see detailed year-over-year insights and industry trends in greater detail? Download Gem’s 2025 Recruiting Benchmarks Report: https://bit.ly/4agcr3y

🌟 𝗤𝟭 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗛𝗥 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 🌟 As we close out the first quarter of 2025, here’s a look at the key trends shaping the HR job market: 🔹 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 Rather than rushing to hire, organizations are prioritizing internal mobility, skill-based hiring, and targeted capability-building. The focus is on getting the right people in the right seats—not just filling headcount, but future-proofing the business. 🔹 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 Nearly 50% of our placements come from passive channels—roles that aren't even advertised. Hiring is highly intentional, and companies are engaging with strong HR talent well ahead of business needs. Pipelining, not posting, is the new norm. 🔹 𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵-𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗛𝗥 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗜𝘀 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴—𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗦𝗼 𝗜𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Functions like Total Rewards, People Analytics, and HR Ops are seeing high demand. Candidates must demonstrate strong commercial acumen and the ability to drive strategy and tech adoption, especially in an AI-driven environment. 🔹 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗔𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: E𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗥𝗲𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝘀 Companies are rebuilding leaner, more specialist TA teams, with deeper ties to key talent pools. 🔹 𝗔𝗜 & 𝗛𝗥 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 AI continues to be the most talked-about trend. From automated recruitment to predictive performance management, organizations are investing in tools that enhance efficiency, reduce bias, and support internal mobility. 🔹 𝗟𝗼𝘄 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 Voluntary attrition remains low, which makes passive candidate engagement more difficult. 🔹 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 Outdated metrics no longer cut it. Organizations are overhauling performance processes to align with business impact, capability-building, and ROI-driven outcomes. HR is playing a central role in redefining success. 🔹 𝗙𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘃𝘀. 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻-𝘁𝗼-𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲: 𝗦𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗘𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 Most of our clients now expect 3 to 5 days in the office, but flexibility remains a key reason people move. Increasingly, the onus is on People Leaders to provide individual-level flexibility—a more human and tailored approach to hybrid work. 🔹 𝗛𝗥 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘃𝘀. 𝗕𝘂𝘆 𝗗𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗺𝗮 As companies drive HR transformation, many are facing tough decisions: invest in up-skilling internal teams, or make external hires with future-ready skills? In some cases, we’re seeing reductions in force followed by strategic rehires to close capability gaps—particularly in areas like AI and workforce planning. 📩 Want the full report? Reach out to me directly and I’ll be happy to share #HRTrends #HRJobs

A welcome rebound The November Jobs report added further evidence of general economic health, reflecting a labor market that is slowing but not nearly grinding to a halt. After a dismal October payroll report complicated by strikes and weather, hiring rebounded by a better-than-expected 227K jobs with positive revisions adding 56K to the last two months combined. 💡 The Fed was widely expected to cut rates by 0.25% later this month, and this report cements that expectation further.   Key takeaways from the report: ➡️   Private sector employment accounted for 85% of job growth this month, driven by strong hiring in health care and social assistance (72K) and leisure and hospitality (53K)—two sectors accounting for roughly 1/3rd of job openings. Retail trade and transportation/utilities shed some jobs, while manufacturing hiring recovered roughly half of last month’s job losses (which included Boeing strike impacts). ➡️   Wages were stable, growing 0.4% on the month and 4% from a year ago. Wage growth continues to outpace inflation, contributing to further gains in household purchasing power. ➡️   Mixed signals from the two surveys do cast some fog on the overall signal here. In the survey of households, labor force participation ticked down and unemployment rose by 161K, a very different picture from the establishment survey’s growth of 227K. This kind of discrepancy is, unfortunately, a new norm. Since last December, household employment shows a decline of 42K, compared to payroll growth of nearly 2 million. Over time, improved data should narrow this gap, and in the meantime, we continue to lean on the “mosaic” of labor market indicators. ➡️   Unemployment may be back at its July level, but it’s not stoking the same fears. When unemployment hit 4.2% in July, it rang alarm bells on recession and inclined the Fed towards a jumbo 50bp cut. Since then, data has shown above-trend GDP growth, jobless claims remain muted, job openings are elevated and ISM purchasing manager surveys suggest employment is modestly improving. ➡️   Still, the uptick in the U-6 unemployment rate bears watching, as an increase in underemployed and discouraged workers could signal underlying labor market strain.   Altogether, stability in wages and the uptick in unemployment tilts the scales further towards a December cut, which markets have upgraded to a ~90% probability following this report. We will watch for progress in CPI after a recent stalling out in disinflation next week, but the bar seems high for a pause. More broadly, despite a shallower easing cycle, above-trend growth, real wage gains, and earnings breadth should provide support for a continued equity rally into the new year.

Are you noticing that recruitment is taking longer these days? It’s not just the summer season slowing things down. Overwhelmed recruiters face a flood of generic, AI-generated CVs, delaying hiring and making it harder to spot real talent. So, why is AI making recruitment harder?  🔷AI-generated content in applications often lacks a personal touch, making it harder for recruiters to evaluate skills and motivation, especially when combined with mass, untailored applications in an already squeezed labour market. 🔷Without proper editing and the overuse of keywords, AI-generated CVs often come across as clunky and generic, making it a frustrating task for hiring managers to review them. 🔷Increased screening time: More applications mean longer review times, prolonging the recruitment process.   A recent study by ResumeGenius found that AI-generated CVs are a major red flag for recruiters, with 53% identifying them as the top indicator of an unsuitable candidate. What strategies are hiring managers using to cut through the noise? 1. The Big Four accountants, Deloitte, EY, PwC, and KPMG, have warned graduates against using AI in their applications. 2. The Coca-Cola Company clearly distinguishes between must-have and nice-to-have skills in its job ads, incorporating specific challenges to filter out unqualified applicants and assess genuine engagement early in the process. 3. Amazon is strategically leveraging automation through AI-powered ATS to analyze keywords and contextual relevance, ensuring that CVs are evaluated based on substance rather than being saturated with irrelevant buzzwords. 4. Most hiring managers have so much sensory/channel overload that reviewing hundreds/thousands of resumes from the “online job posting" channel gets turned off. Salesforce, Philips, Airbnb, Tesla, and others are concentrating more on headhunting practices and relaunching employee referral programs.  5. Dyson has found its way to ‘feed’ top talent into its recruitment funnel. It organizes campus tours for top engineering and business schools, putting a particular focus on students who are driven, curious, and passionate about creating something new. 6. While many companies hire externally to fill vacant, specialized roles, Infosys is looking within, helping employees grow their careers by upskilling and taking up more advanced roles within the company. 7. Slack replaced many traditional applications with a technical exercise and offered applicants the option to complete assessments on-site rather than online. 8. After Citrix Systems receives a promising application, the recruiter contacts the candidate and guides them through the whole hiring process. This 5-minute intro call can reveal far more about a candidate’s suitability than a generic application. And how does your company break through the noise, avoid the pitfalls of AI-driven hiring mistakes, and secure the best talent?

I'm excited to share the Indeed Hiring Lab's Indeed’s 2024 US Jobs & Hiring Trends Report. As we head into the new year, I'm feeling cautiously optimistic. The labor market didn’t follow the script many people wrote for it this year. Let’s all be thankful for that. As we approach the end of this year, the US labor market is still humming along and coming back more into balance after a frenetic and discombobulating few years. A soft landing is possible and more probable with each new data release. But past performance is no guarantee of future results. For the next year to be as smooth as 2023, a few trends need to hold up or accelerate in 2024: ✅ Demand for workers must stay strong, either because job postings hold firm or employers hoard workers despite weak hiring plans. ✅ More prime-age workers will need to enter the workforce to counteract the long-term drag of an aging population.  ✅ Quitting will need to stick at its current pace, a level consistent with what we saw before the pandemic but still elevated by historical standards. ✅ Nominal wage growth will need to continue to come down to ease concerns about the labor market fueling inflation. But for workers to keep adding to their purchasing power, wage growth cannot fall below the rate of inflation. ✅ Generative AI tools may spread rapidly through the economy and boost productivity growth. There's much more about these trends in the full report, which I hope you read. I'm excited to hear your thoughts and reactions. While my name is on the byline, this report benefited significantly from guidance, thoughts, research, and help from Svenja Gudell, Cory Stahle, Allison Shrivastava, and Daniel Culbertson during its drafting and throughout the year. https://lnkd.in/e4T6sueC

Here’s what I’m seeing in the EA market right now across financial services. Top EAs are off the market in days. If your process is slow or your offer’s low, you’ll lose them. German-speaking, rare. Be prepared to pay or be flexible. Career temps are disappearing. Post-COVID, most EAs want stability, not uncertainty. Micromanagement = exit. Today’s EAs want autonomy and strategic input. Treat them like partners, not admin. Culture misalignment is costing firms. If the role’s been oversold, they’ll walk. 5 days in the office? More EAs are open to it now, but most still want at least 1 day WFH. The more days you require in-office, the higher their salary expectations. Flexibility still has value. Float EAs are gaining traction. Flexible support, better coverage, less burnout. They’re in demand, but most see it as a stepping stone, not a long-term career path. £45k for a long serving EA? If they’ve given you 5+ years and had no meaningful uplift, they will eventually test the market and they’ll find better. EAs – know your worth. Hiring Managers – speed shows intent, clarity builds trust and a smooth process gives you the edge. The best candidates won’t wait around. #Recruitment #ExecutiveAssistant #HumanResources #HR #Leadership #HiringManager #FinancialServices

The latest jobs report confirms what my experience in HR has been telling me for months: the job market has entered a turbulent phase. The numbers are clear: the U.S. added just 22,000 jobs in August, far below expectations, and layoffs surged 39% from July. As an HR professional, these aren’t just statistics—they’re a daily reality. This is why it’s now taking candidates two and a half months on average to find a new job, a duration not seen since 2017. This shift affects everyone. Here’s what it means for two key groups: For Companies and Leaders This isn't a time for panic, but for precision. Focus on retaining your top talent. A volatile market makes employee experience, internal mobility, and clear communication more critical than ever. When you do hire, be strategic, not reactive. The market demands you get it right the first time. For Job Seekers Don't be discouraged. Be strategic. While competition is high, opportunity still exists for those who adapt. Double down on networking, refine your personal brand, and be ready to articulate your value beyond a resume. Your network and your soft skills are your most powerful assets right now. This is a critical moment for us to learn, adapt, and lead through uncertainty. What are you seeing on the ground? Share your biggest challenge or observation below. #JobMarket #HR #CareerAdvice #Recruitment #Economy

Will there be more jobs in April because of the bonus cycle? I was talking to a Marketing Leader this week and they asked me this question. It's one I've heard countless times throughout my career, and it reflects how we've all been conditioned to expect predictable recruitment patterns. In the past, my answer would have been an enthusiastic "Yes!" Traditionally, post-bonus season triggered movement as professionals, newly liquid and with achievements recognized, felt confident to explore new opportunities. But the truth? These reliable cycles have been fundamentally disrupted over the last few years. What we're experiencing isn't simply a market downturn - it's a complete rewriting of previously predictable hiring patterns. The recurring waves of redundancies have created what I call the "tsunami effect" - just as the market appears to stabilize, another major restructuring floods the talent pool, completely resetting market dynamics. So to answer that leader's question more honestly: We might see some movement in April, but it won't follow historical patterns. Instead of a predictable tide, we're navigating choppy, unpredictable waters. However, I am seeing encouraging signs. There's increased competition for talent at Mid Market Manager level - typically starting in the £50-80K range. We're witnessing more counter-offers and companies fighting to retain their best people. Historically, this tightening at mid-levels gradually expands upward. For hiring managers planning their talent strategy, this means: ✅ Being prepared to move quickly when exceptional candidates emerge ✅ Recognizing that transferable skills often matter more than exact industry experience ✅ Understanding that the best candidates are evaluating you as critically as you're evaluating them The market doesn't remain static forever. Those who adapt their hiring approach to this new reality will secure the talent that drives their next phase of growth. What recruitment patterns are you seeing in your sector? Do you think the traditional hiring cycles will ever return? #techmarketing #marketingleaders #recruitmenttrends