Low Unemployment Rate Sparks New Tactics for Recruiters

by Steven Lindner | Aug 4, 2014 | Industry Research and Recruiting Metrics, Recruitment Process Outsourcing, Talent Acquisition | 0 comments

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the June employment report marks the fourth consecutive month of job growth. With the unemployment rate falling to 6.3% (as of March 20, 2015 the unemployment rate is 5.5%), less people are scrambling for a job.In fact, 1.4 million new jobs have been created between January and June of 2014. This is the largest gain seen since 2006 (The Economist, July 19 – 25, 2014, p. 22).

With fewer job seekers on the market, recruiting qualified candidates becomes more difficult. Employers must now begin to consider including relocation, wage increases, and employee engagement tactics into their recruitment strategy.

Relocation:

Employers must now consider offering relocation assistance to qualified job applicants, particularly to applicants with specialized skill sets. Relocation assistance now needs to be part of an employer’s recruitment strategy even for hourly and non-senior roles.

Economic growth triggers recruitment challenges for employers. Various industries including education and health services, finance, leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, and manufacturing have recorded employment gains in June. Companies that need to hire individuals with specialized skill sets or particular expertise such as bilingual fluency or computer programming are most affected.

With unemployment rates as low as 3% in some parts of the U.S., the pool of available talent is much smaller than it was several years ago. Employers now need to look outside of their local job market to fill their job openings.

Relocation has most often been limited to those in the most senior level roles. However, the largest employment growth has been seen in hourly and junior level roles. This places new pressures on employers who need individuals with specialized skill sets that may be scarce or in high demand in their local markets. For example, employers who need bilingual customer service representatives or I.T. technical support representatives, or need individuals with any type of specialized skill set will need to offer some type of relocation assistance. Otherwise, they risk not filling their open positions.

Implement Incentives:

Candidates who are not actively seeking jobs, also known as passive candidates, are even harder for employers to attract. Passive candidates are gainfully employed and, as such, require significant incentives to resign their current position. Higher wages are an obvious motivator. However, given the fact that the majority of new jobs created have been for low wage earners, these individuals are particularly attracted to opportunities offering better work-life balances and career advancement opportunities.

Do Something Different to? Motivate Candidates To Apply:

While incentives attract the candidate,they only work if candidates are aware of them. Placing job ads and waiting for candidates to apply is no longer sufficient. With so many job ads and social media campaigns being conducted, employers need to get creative in how they capture job candidates’ attention.

During the holidays, we created a “Use Your Resume to Fight Hunger Campaign.” For every qualified application received, we donated much needed food to the Salvation Army. This campaign brought thousands of unique applicants to our client. Candidates went the extra step to complete the application process because they felt they were using their time and resume for a good cause while pursuing a career-growth opportunity.

With the growing numbers of new jobs being created and a rapidly decreasing unemployment rate, employers need to consider the above factors in their recruitment plans. By rethinking their approach, employers can get the attention of top talent in an economy with dwindling supply. As a Recruitment Process Outsourcing provider, we not only find, attract and assess talent but provide counsel to companies on ways to make job opportunities appealing to the talent they need.