The U.S. jobs data for May raises that possibility.
A hiring pullback reported in Friday’s monthly report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the economy added just 138,000 jobs in May, which was still high enough to help sink the unemployment rate to a 16-year low of 4.3 percent but hiring is gradually weakening.
“It’s definitely becoming an increasing problem for businesses – finding qualified workers,” Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Amherst Pierpont Securities, told The Associated Press. “The pool has diminished considerably.”
The numbers suggest job growth is slowing slightly, the government revised downward its estimate of job growth in March and April by a combined 66,000. Monthly gains have averaged 121,000 the past three months, compared with 181,000 over the past 12 months. As recently as 2015, job growth averaged 226,000 a month.
Sectors with the largest gains included health care, professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and mining.
Recruiters continue to see a divergence in the fortunes of workers with advanced speciality skills and education to those without them as the applicant pool shrinks.
“Given reports that job openings are near all-time highs, it suggests that businesses are struggling to fill these positions,” Beth Ann Bovino, U.S. chief economist for S&P Global Ratings, told The Associated Press.
Here’s what you can do.
If this trend continues, as economists are predicting, now more than ever employers are needing help in filling open positions. Save time and money and let ICON bring the talent to you. We won’t just send a bunch of CVs your way to wade through. Our mission is to bring you the high impact resources you need to make your business a success. In order to do that, we invest the time to become industry experts and fully understand your business and your needs.
“I really prefer working with ICON because of the willingness to take the time to sit down with me and really understand my business,” said Terri Barnes, Director of Healthcare Intelligence, Providence Health and Services. “And not just my personnel with what’s going on with my team and what I’m looking for but also what’s happening with my company. What’s happening in the market and what’s happening nationally. It makes a really big difference in their ability to find me the right candidates.”
You’ll see the ICON difference in our level of integrity in everything we do.
“Having the values that ICON has of making sure it’s the right provider, the right fit for the provider, and the right opportunity for the provider has really been integral in the values that I have,” says Kirk Nelson, Internal Recruiter at an Oregon Hospital. “And they really are wanting the best for my organization and being willing to help no matter what the situation is.”
Become an ICON, contact an ICON Concierge to learn more about our menu of staffing services.
