Dive Brief:
- U.S. employers are confident about their hiring plans as the new year gets rolling, according to CareerBuilder’s annual job forecast.
- In 2016, 36% of employers plan to add full-time, permanent employees, the same as 2015, the survey notes. And nearly half of employers (47%) plan to hire temporary or contract workers.
- Even with those positive numbers, 45% say their hiring will not change, while 10% plan to decrease staff levels and 9% are unsure what they will do. Comparing industries, financial services (46%), information technology (44%) and health care (43%) are expected to lead the national average for employers adding full-time workers.
Dive Insight:
The U.S. job reports have held steady on increases, adding an average of about 200,000 jobs each month over the last two years. 2016 will likely be similar, Ferguson said.
“The market is also showing signs of broader wage pressure,” said Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder. “While employers have been more willing to pay a premium for high-skill labor, they now have to pay more competitive wages for entry-level positions. Workers are gaining leverage.”
Additionally, of the employers who will hire temporary workers, 58% plan to transition some of them into permanent roles in 2016.
Finally, when it comes to employer size, small business managers seem to feel better about their financial prospects in 2016 and are looking to expand their staff - of businesses with 50 or fewer employees, 27% plan to hire full-time, permanent employees, up from 20% last year. And of those with 250 or fewer employees, 33% plan to hire full-time, permanent employees, up from 29% last year.
