Half of U.S. companies plan to create new jobs later in 2024
This audio is automatically generated. Please let us know if you have any feedback.
For the rest of 2024, hiring will remain flat, with 52 percent of U.S. companies planning to create new permanent positions and 43 percent planning to fill vacancies, according to a July 30 report from Robert Half, a staffing solutions and management consulting firm.
To reach talent, HR managers said they are proactively offering hybrid jobs (41%), slot work that allows teams to work outside of normal working hours (41%), and higher starting salaries (38%).
“Today, workers are more selective when it comes to making a career move,” Dawn Fay, chief operating officer at Robert Half, said in a statement.
“While hiring remains a priority, employers should not lose sight of their current workforce,” she added. “Qualified talent remains in high demand, so it’s critical to prioritize retention strategies to keep your best employees on board.”
In the survey of 2,500 human resource managers, 4% said they would not address vacant positions, but no respondents said they planned to cut jobs.
According to the survey, the most important factors influencing hiring decisions include company growth, employee turnover and project-based work that requires skilled professionals.
However, 86% still reported hiring issues, such as a lack of applicants with the required skills, not hiring quickly enough to attract the best talent, and an inability to meet candidates’ salary expectations. In response, 62% of hiring managers said they would be willing to reconsider their work experience requirements if a candidate had the skills needed for the job.
According to a report by Express Employment Professionals, budget constraints could also hamper hiring in the second half of 2024. Although most HR managers expressed a positive hiring forecast, they expressed concerns about money, automation and new technologies.
However, despite the challenges in the labor market, HR leaders say the challenges of recruiting and retaining employees have eased somewhat in 2024, according to a survey from the Conference Board. Flexible work arrangements have helped, while on-site duties have displaced some employees, HR experts said.
According to a report from Eagle Hill Consulting, employee retention continued to rise in the second quarter of 2024, building on a rise in the first quarter and signaling lower turnover for the rest of the year. Retention numbers reached their highest level in 18 months, surpassing the previous peak from the first quarter of 2023.
