Dive Brief:
- The 11,500 employers in a ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey said they plan to hire more workers in the next three months. The job increase creates a net employment outlook of +19%, the strongest in a decade, ManpowerGroup said.
- Optimistic hiring plans were forecasted across all 13 industry sectors, with leisure and hospitality having an outlook of +20%, the largest for 28 quarters in a row. Continued job growth and expansion also were reflected in professional and business services, as well as transportation and utilities. Additionally, the optimism seen in manufacturing, retail and professional services is a sign that the economy is returning to pre-recession levels, Becky Frankiewicz, president of ManpowerGroup North America, said in a statement.
- Employers in all four U.S. regions reported a strong hiring outlook for Q4 2018, with the South and the West showing the most optimism in more than a decade.
Dive Insight:
Despite these hiring plans, recent research suggests that employers may not be able to find enough qualified workers to meet their goals. The labor market remains tight as unemployment hovers around 4%, and economists predict that it could contract even more next year. Employers struggling to find quality workers now could very well could continue to wrestle with the problem beyond Q4.
The market also may be pressuring employers to raise wages, experts have said. Employees equipped with in-demand skills have an edge today, as they're easily able to take their skills elsewhere and, apparently, are willing to: Almost half of workers interviewed in an OfficeTeam survey said they would leave their current job for one that pays more. Benefits and perks still rank high on employee wish lists, too, according to a Randstad U.S. survey.
Where possible, some employers are instead opting to upskill current employees, Frankiewicz previously told HR Dive. "If we take collective action to help develop the right blend of technical and soft skills, people will augment rather than compete with technology and employers will be able to find and nurture the talent they need for the open jobs," she said.