From their profit margins to their staffing needs, industries are in a constant state of fluctuation. Entire segments may take a sudden hit to employment numbers, or consumer necessity for that industry may decrease. The opposite can happen just as quickly, and as every staffing and recruiting firm can attest, every increase or decrease an industry feels can directly affect business.
Regardless of the status of certain markets, it’s important they have the resources to find new employees quickly, especially if a business is trying to get back on its feet and is focused on hiring the right team to help rebuild. This, coupled with the fact that a high turnover rate can be a liability for any business, is why recruiting and staffing companies are so important.
In order to be competitive in supplying candidates to hyper-competitive industries, recruiting and staffing companies must anticipate the next wave of hiring needs. It can be tough for recruiting professionals to find the right connections in any industry, which is another reason why it’s imperative for recruiters to stay ahead of trends. The good news is that your business can help companies in a number of industries while growing internally at the same time.
This article answers a few big questions facing the staffing and recruiting industry, starting with how the industry itself is faring. Next, it covers which client industries are the most competitive for staffing and recruiting, including how to use online resources to stay ahead of the curve. Then,the article looks into physical locations where staffing firms are most needed, and explains the best ways to determine how your geographic area is changing and how that will affect your firm.
The information in this article is gathered from sources like the American Staffing Association Marketplace, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book. Each resource is explained so you can use them in the future to dig into some of the fastest growing markets in relation to unemployment, job searches, and contractors.
The Good News about the Staffing and Recruiting Industry
Data from the American Staffing Association
The American Staffing Association, or ASA, regularly shares timely research based on data gathered from different resources around the web. For instance, they examined the Temporary Help Employment trends for payroll enrollment, based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics from July 2010 until July 2015. They found a slow but steady increase in the number of temporary employees over time.
Data from Ciett (International Confederation of Private Employment Services) Annual Economic Report
The latest report from Ciett was published in February 2015 and is published once per year. Its data helps project future industry trends based on economic data. Ciett found that agency work is growing, with over 40 million individuals around the world working as agency employees. That accounts for about 1.6 percent of the total working population.
Interpreting Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
The Employment Services industry, as labeled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is a healthy and growing industry. From a high level, the number of jobs in this industry, which includes employment placement agencies, temporary help services, and professional employer organizations, is projected to increase from more than 3.1 million in 2012 to almost 4.0 million in 2022. The increase of 781,700 jobs, with growth at an annual rate of 2.2 percent, makes this industry one of the largest and fastest growing in terms of employment.
Industries such as information technology, healthcare, and temporary help services are seeing the largest and some of the most rapid growth. The combined real output of these industries is expected to increase by $64.5 billion. This amounts to a 3.4 percent annual increase, and should reach $228.7 billion in 2022.
What is the fastest growing occupation? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it is industrial-organization psychologists, with a 53.4 percent increase predicted by 2022. Personal care aids and home health aids aren’t far behind, with a 48 percent increase, followed closely by insulation workers, interpreters and translators, and diagnostic media sonographers.
Additional Resources from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is certainly one of your best resources to help project industry growth trends, unemployment rates and trends, and other government data. With such an incredible amount of data and resources, the website can be overwhelming. More information relevant to the staffing and recruiting industry can be found in the following pages:
Employment by Major Industry Sector
Occupations with the Largest Job Decline (2008-2018)
Occupations with the Largest Job Growth (2008-2018)
Industry Output and Employment Projections to 2018
Important Data By Location According to The Beige Book
This resource from the Federal Reserve is found in the Reports section of the Monetary Policy tab, and allows you to investigate different areas of the country that are ripe for staffing and recruiting agencies considering expansion. Every six weeks, the Federal Reserve Beige Book reports on current economic conditions for each of the Federal Reserve districts—Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Dallas, and San Francisco. Furthermore, every six weeks it also reports on interest rates in order to provide information on changes in the economy.
The Beige Book reports that in New England, for example, the staffing services sector saw excellent growth. The IT and heathcare industries are especially strong, and there is a greater need for qualified labor.Of course, as most recruiters have discovered, finding enough qualified candidates is a challenge, and there is a noticeable shortage of “IT workers, software developers, skilled trades workers, and network administrators.”A selling point to those considering temporary work in New England is that conversions to full-time employment are popular. Furthermore, “pay rates have grown by 3 percent to 20 percent.” Most staffing and recruiting professionals in this region are cautiously optimistic about growth.
The Beige Book is an invaluable resource that can help you make projections about the future of unemployment and business growth.
What All This Data Means to Recruiting and Staffing Firms
For staffing and recruiting firms looking at future expansion, it’s important to consult data from the resources listed in this article. As evidenced by the information from the American Staffing Association, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Ciett, this industry will continue to grow in response to the growth of client industries. Use the information on these sites to keep your own business growing, as well as establish yourself as an expert in industries that need the expertise you offer.
The industries that are growing the most and the fastest may not be related, and will require extra work for a staffing and recruiting firm. No matter what you do with the information presented here, knowledge in the staffing and recruiting industry is power, and these sources will make sure you are a step ahead of your competition.
