Jobvite, a talent-acquisition software suite, conducts an annual survey of the US labor market to uncover various trends about employers, candidates, and the recruiting process. The results of the 2021 Job Seeker Nation Report have recently been released, and there is a lot to digest. The short story is that job seeker data have changed. The longer story is that some things haven’t changed as much as we might have expected, other things have changed more, and as always, what you see and hear reported in the media may not be totally accurate. Some of the things that I found particularly interesting:
Job Seeker Data
- More than two-thirds of job seekers believe finding a job will be more difficult this year than last year. This is a surprise as the US job market has been hot, with more employers lamenting a serious talent shortage.
- Nearly two-thirds say the job seeking process is at least “somewhat” more stressful. This is especially true of job seekers who have children living in their homes. For workers with children at home, that is the biggest factor in the increased stress level associated with their job search.
- Food insecurity is on the rise, with 30% of survey respondents reporting that they, or someone in their immediate family, have gone without food for at least 24 hours in the last 30 days. This is a double-digit increase from a year ago.
- According to the job seeker data, 74% of respondents say that remote work is somewhat important or very important when considering whether to accept a job offer. However, overall compensation is still reported as the most influential factor.
- One-third of workers want full-time remote work
- About 30 percent of workers prefer a 50/50 hybrid environment
- 24 percent prefer to be in the office full time
- Diversity, equity and inclusion efforts are increasingly important to candidates. Roughly 40% of job seekers would turn down an employment offer from an organization that lacked a diverse workforce or did not have clear goals to increase diversity in hiring.
- From a workplace safety perspective, 58% of job seekers would decline an offer from an organization that did not have clear COVID protocols. More than half would decline an offer if masks were not required to be worn.
- While I often hear recruiters say that Facebook isn’t a good place to find candidates, it is the MAIN place where job seekers go to learn about a company’s culture and employer brand – 79% of respondents.
- 53% of surveyed workers report having, or planning to have, a second source of income. This is a 50% increase over the previous year, with the majority (54%) say it is because they need additional money.
Have you read the report? What did you find interesting?