Over Half of Employers "Significantly Relying" on Contingent Hires

Talent cloud company iCIMS surveyed over 500 U.S. HR professionals to provide a comprehensive view of the labor market, including the peaks and valleys in hiring, job openings, and applicant activity across industries, as well as a forward-looking outlook into 2021 and beyond.

"Hiring is more competitive than ever," said Charles Mah, Chief Evangelist at iCIMS. "Creating a solid starting lineup of qualified candidates can help support efforts to find best-fit candidates, diversify, build new skills in your organization, and create a community of brand ambassadors. But, diversifying pipelines in this environment requires new thinking. It is critical to create authentic, dynamic experiences and then apply smart analysis to build out and broaden talent pools strategically."

Highlights from the report:

  • Job openings are down 3%, job applications are up 13%, and hires are down 10% YoY (2019 v. 2020)

  • 58% of organizations will significantly rely on contingent hires in 2021

  • The two biggest priorities for CEOs are: 1) build a great customer base and 2) build a winning workforce

  • Companies take 61 days on average to fill a tech role in high demand, compared to 42 days for a non-tech role

  • Nearly three-quarters of companies readjusted the role or responsibility of up to half of their workforce in response to the pandemic

  • 23% of job applications submitted in 2020 came from out-of-state applicants

  • Half of companies say they've loosened or removed location requirements for posted roles

  • 53% of organizations are providing stipends or hiring bonuses for employees who want to set up a home office

  • Diverse hiring activity led the rebound with women in underrepresented racial and ethnic groups making up the largest portion of hires in 2020 (30%), followed by white women (27%), men in underrepresented racial and ethnic groups (22%), and white men (21%)

  • ​80% of organizations expanded or accelerated digital transformation plans in 2020

Source: iCIMS