If 2015 is a year in which you plan on hiring more people for your company, consider yourself in good company, based on the results of a recent survey regarding employers' recruitment activity in the new year.
More than 1 in 3 employers intend to add more workers to their payroll over the next 12 months, according to a new poll from job search engine CareerBuilder. More specifically, 36 percent of company managers will increase how many full-time workers that are on staff, up from slightly under 1 in 4 at this time last year. Just 9 percent anticipate reducing the size of their workforce through company layoffs or consolidating roles.
Matt Ferguson, CareerBuilder CEO, noted that caution is finally giving way to confidence, after a number of years in which the unemployment rate was stubbornly above 8 percent and at one time was just north of 10 percent. The current jobless rate – 5.8 percent – is at its lowest ebb since 2006, based on data from the U.S. Labor Department.
"Hiring in 2014 was broad-based, including encouraging activity among small businesses and hard-hit sectors like manufacturing and construction," said Ferguson. "The amount of companies planning to hire in 2015 is up 12 percentage points over last year, setting the stage for a more competitive environment for recruiters that may lend itself to some movement in wages."
Sales, customer service industries most likely to hire
Some industries may be more inclined to hire than others, the survey revealed. For example, among employers in the sales industry, roughly 36 percent said that recruiting will be on their agenda in 2015, slightly more than customer service, where 1 in 3 employers in this sector forecast taking on additional workers. Information technology, production and administrative rounded out the top five industries most likely to hire in 2015.
Because more jobs are becoming available, employment seekers are getting more selective in what position they ultimately choose, taking a number of different factors into consideration, like employee benefits, earnings before and after taxes and fringe benefits like paid vacation time and wellness programs. Similarly, companies are being more circumspect with who it is they appoint to open positions. On average, employers interview six people before filling a role, based on a separate survey from professional services firm the Creative Group. Advertising and marketing executives, for example, receive roughly 23 resumes for every creative job that's advertised. Six people are met with before deciding on who the best fit is for the title, the poll found.
Individuals' qualifications may ultimately be the determining factor as to which person is given the go-ahead, but factors that can't be quantified can also play a role, based on a separate CareerBuilder survey. For example, the 2013 poll found that 27 percent of employers would hire someone who had the better sense of humor in a situation where candidates were equally qualified. Roughly the same percentage pointed to level of community involvement being a compelling determinant of the person they'd most want to have on staff.
