Hiring News & Trends
9 Trends that will shape work in 2024 and beyond
1. Organizations will offer creative benefits to address the costs of work.
- Housing subsidies - Caregiver benefits - Financial well-being programs - Student loan repayment
2. AI will create, not diminish, workforce opportunity.
3. Four-day workweeks will move from radical to routine.
4. Employee conflict resolution will be a must-have skill for managers.
5. GenAI experiments will yield hard lessons and painful costs.
6. Skills requirements will overtake degree requirements as the “paper ceiling” crumbles.
7. Climate change protection becomes a new employee benefit.
- Explicit commitments to physical safety - Compensation to impacted employees - Mental health support
8. DEI won’t disappear; it will become more embedded in the way we work.
9. Traditional stereotypes of career paths will collapse in the face of workforce change.
- Make it easier for talent to stay at or return to the organization. - Take advantage of expertise where it exists, regardless of tenure. - Prepare for the imminent retirement of many experienced workers.
Source: Harvard Business Review
JT Turba Managing Partner Vaco
“In the evolving landscape of work in 2024, we are witnessing transformative trends that demand strategic adaptation. For one, the integration of AI into core business functions is reshaping workforce dynamics, like accounts payable and accounts receivable automation for example. Rather than diminishing opportunities, it prompts a shift in skill requirements. The power of generative AI is burgeoning, urging organizations to fortify their data strategy and readiness in order to capitalize on the opportunity that exists by properly integrating AI into core business functions.
Additionally, we are seeing a lot of clients trying to balance flexibility with an effective return to office policy. The implementation of which demands meticulous organizational change management to prevent alienating valuable remote talent. Flexibility is the closest thing to most people’s hearts right now.
Leadership’s softer side, and the strong need for emotional intelligence, also takes center stage. Continuous learning opportunities, coaching and mentoring will be important for all worker types. Thoughtful and well-executed consultant care programs and solutions like salaried professional services become pivotal for upskilling, and they demonstrate a commitment on the part of talent solutions providers to invest in the contingent workforce in unprecedented and meaningful ways. Lastly, skills-based hiring encourages the diversification of talent pipelines and challenges traditional HR parameters, enabling alternative career mobility and ultimately strengthening organizations.
The shifts we’re seeing are seismic and there is opportunity at every turn. Navigating with the future in mind while solving for current state realities will be important.”
Hiring News & Trends
What's in and what's out for workers in 2024
What's In:
In: contract work
Traditional industries like IT, healthcare and legal services are increasingly working with contractors and consultants to lower their labor costs. What’s more, in the face of rising inflation, more workers are taking on side gigs to make ends meet.
What's Out:
Out: constant headcount growth
The cycle of hiring and firing employees is getting faster, and the era of companies slowly and steadily growing their headcount is coming to an end.
In: AI-powered hiring
Proponents believe that AI could make the hiring process better by providing AI-powered career coaching for young workers and by catalyzing a skills-based hiring revolution. Others fear that AI will cause chaos and “hallucinations” in the labor market. AI hallucinations happen when a large language model creates nonsensical, inaccurate or fabricated outputs. This could lead a company using AI to hire a nonexistent candidate or to hire a real candidate for a nonexistent job.
Out: Noncompete agreements
In January 2023, the FTC proposed effectively banning noncompete agreements. In April 2024, the FTC is expected to make a final ruling on the matter. No matter the decision, the practice of banning workers from finding new jobs is likely on the way out.
Source: Fast Company
Yvonne Shelfer Managing Partner Vaco
“To start out 2024, there’s been a dynamic shift in the employment market, where contract and temporary work reign supreme, opening doors to outsourcing opportunities, including nearshore, offshore and onshore solutions and resources. The spotlight shines brightly on the possibilities of AI application to critical business functions, including accounting and technology, captivating both employers and talent alike. There is both an element of excitement and uncertainty regarding its full potential. As conversations buzz with AI's transformative power, it undeniably emerges as the 'in' thing of the moment.
In the realm of working arrangements, the era of fully remote roles is gracefully making way for the popular hybrid model, aiming to strike the important balance between virtual connectivity and in-person collaboration. While this trend may vary based on a variety of qualifiers, including geographic nuances, industry and position type, it reflects a broader, ongoing movement towards adaptable and flexible work arrangements in the ever-evolving world of work.”
Hiring News & Trends
What's ahead in the temporary employment market in 2024
Status check on project work
According to a Source Global Research survey, more than three-quarters of professional services buyers had cancelled at least some existing projects or scrapped new ones, while two-thirds had paused most existing project work.
Source: Financial Times
Added jobs in December 2023
While the overall U.S. workforce added 216,000 jobs in December 2023, the number of temporary workers fell by 33,300. That marked the 13th time in the previous 14 months that the ranks of temporary workers tumbled.
Reduction in temporary employees
Since peaking in March 2022 at nearly 3.2 million, the number of temporary employees in the U.S. has fallen about 10.9% to 2.8 million in December 2023.
Increase in job creation MoM
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, overall job creation grew by an average of 2.3% each month in 2023, but temporary jobs declined by an average of 4.9% each month.
Source: S&P Global
Staffing employment begins to rise in January
After the seasonal end-of-year dip in December, staffing employment rose in January, with the ASA Staffing Index increasing by 4.0% to a rounded value of 88. Some staffing companies mentioned a holiday and inclement weather as primary factors that limited further growth. Despite two straight weeks of growth, staffing jobs were 12.5% below the same week last year.
Source: American Staffing Association
Kristin Curry Managing Partner Vaco
“We are witnessing a recalibration of the contingent and temporary employment market. The surge in demand for temporary workers and the contract labor force in 2023 mirrored a volatile economic landscape riddled with uncertainty. There was also a market correction that took place throughout the year last year—and that resulted from the increased demand for talent, both full-time and on an interim basis, after the short-lived slowdown immediately following the start of the pandemic. Organizations then needed to compete in what was dubbed the ‘new normal.’ Today, we are redefining that normal yet again, and I think 2024 will serve as the true new normal and the reasonable benchmark for how to assess the demand for talent moving forward.
As the dust started to settle towards the end of 2023, and stability emerged, it revealed a fundamental shift. The drastic cuts made in 2020 were followed by the realization that remote work didn't hinder productivity as feared, and, in some cases, may have actually increased it. This led to a newfound level of investment in technology and talent. While remote opportunities then were the popular working arrangement, companies are now gradually returning to onsite work, and this is reducing job volatility. Furthermore, layoffs stemming from paused projects or overinvestments are coming back full circle, and while there was initially a temporary slowdown, the demand for contract and interim resources remains strong—and we expect it to increase as projects get back underway. Companies are reevaluating hiring strategies, focusing on skills and adaptability. This normalized state signifies a new baseline of sorts, offering opportunities for strategic partnerships in navigating the evolving talent landscape.”