5 Key Hiring Trends for 2022

It’s hard to know for sure what hiring will look like in 2022, given all the unknowns with the economy and the latest surge of COVID.

However, some insights point to a better year.

Despite the supply chain and labor shortages suffered this past year and the new and spreading variants of the COVID-19 virus, employers feel optimistic heading into 2022.

Employers’ failure to hire in 2021 is putting more pressure on hiring in 2022.

According to Monster’s 2022 Future of Work Report, 93% of employers said they plan to hire in the new year, up 11% from 2021.

HR leaders and recruiters will need to continue to adapt and adjust in 2022. Using Monster data and expert insights, here are five key hiring trends to anticipate, along with tips on how to prepare:

1. Candidates Will Return to The Labor Market

  • From a recruitment standpoint, data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that the tight labor market may be loosening. In the BLS November jobs report, the unemployment rate continued to decline to 4.2%, while the labor force participation rate increased to 61.8%—the highest level since March 2020.

Factors contributing to this trend include:

  • Inflation is going to force workers to go back to work as benefits run out, as the money that the federal government has been distributing runs out,and as the value of that money deteriorates.

2. Flexibility in the Workplace Will Continue

  • According to the Future of Work Report, 62% of companies are planning to make the shift to hybrid or remote work in 2022. Many have found that flexible work options help retain talent, give them a recruiting edge, and have worked well amid the ongoing pandemic.

3. Candidates Will Continue to Prioritize Pay

When it comes to jobs, it’s no secret that money talks.

  • As a result, we’ve seen wages move up, up, up amid the ongoing labor shortages. According to the BLS November job report, average hourly earnings have increased by $1.07 since April 2021. Similarly, a report by Paychex and IHS Markit showed that small businesses have increased hourly wages by $1.17 since last year.

  • Keep in mind that wages alone won’t cut it. Monster’s Future of Work Report showed that other forms of compensation like healthcare and paid time off will also be necessary to attract and retain workers in today’s labor market.

4. Skills Will Matter More Than Experience

  • Between mass layoffs and the Great Resignation, today’s candidate likely doesn’t have a “perfect” resume with advanced degrees and five to 10 years of experience at the same company—and that’s OK. Given the current market conditions, we are seeing things that were once considered red flags like job-hopping and resume gaps becoming more acceptable.

5. Next Gen Recruiters Will Embrace HR Tech and Diversity

It’s out with the old, and in with the new—Baby Boomers are retiring, and Millennials and Gen Z are taking up a larger share of the labor market.

  • According to Gallup, these two generations combined make up 46% of the full-time workforce. As these younger digital natives, who, for the most part, grew up with a cellphone in their hand and the Internet at their fingertips, continue to permeate the labor market in 2022, methods of recruiting and job searching will become much more digitally savvy.

  • On the candidate side, we can expect to see more job searches being conducted on mobile devices. According to Monster, about one in four candidates say they do most of their job searches on a mobile device and/or mobile app.

Source: Monster