Economic indicators point to a thoughtful approach to hiring, even as the skills shortage looms large across the tech, retail, and life sciences sectors according to data from the September U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report and insights from AMS (formerly Alexander Mann Solutions), a global provider of talent outsourcing and advisory services. The unemployment rate edged down to 3.5% from 3.7% the month prior with the number of unemployed persons decreasing to 5.8 million in September.
“Businesses are being thoughtful about hiring decisions as they finish out 2022 and head into the new year. Companies still don’t want to lose the talent – especially talent with tech skills – that they’ve worked so hard to win, but they’re being cautious about the economy,” said Nicola Hancock, Managing Director – Americas Region, AMS. “We’re not seeing many layoffs at all. In fact, we’re seeing companies get creative about how they allocate the talent they have by skilling their team members in new ways and utilizing them in other areas of the business.”
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The September BLS report highlights the federal government’s focus on balancing labor demand with supply, and the data supports that progress is being made. In September payroll employment rate increased by 263,000.
“Even though the U.S. economy is contracting, we are still experiencing the most painful skills shortage we’ve seen in our history and companies continue to hire at all levels and skills. There are a few exceptions in certain banking and tech sectors, which is common as we enter the 4th quarter. Hospitality and airlines remain in catch up mode having cut deeply through the pandemic, and life sciences continues to ramp up their hiring strategies,” Hancock added.
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With the holiday season fast-approaching, many retailers are also feeling the pains of a tight labor market and concurrent skills shortage as employee levels remained steady in September.
“As we get ready for the holiday season, many businesses need to scale up quickly but are having a hard time doing so because of the tight labor market. Companies are taking a hard look at their talent acquisition tech stacks to prepare them not only for the immediate seasonal needs, but also for the expected need to enable flexibility in 2023,” Hancock advised.
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