Your Hiring Pulse report for August 2024

It’s the Hiring Pulse time again and we’re rolling out some key changes to make our data easier to understand and more useful for you.

You’ll now find new charts, fresh data, and a clearer focus, giving you a better view of the hiring landscape. This will help you see how you stack up against the competition and spot areas where you might improve your hiring process.

Let’s dive into the changes and explore them together.

In our previous edition we noted that despite economic challenges, companies kept their recruitment processes efficient. At the same time, job seekers faced tougher competition, with a higher ratio of candidates per job opening.

In this edition of Hiring Pulse, we will explore these topics in depth, providing insights into the market dynamics observed throughout July..

Let’s begin.

How we’re looking at data and what is changed

So far, we’ve used two methodologies to analyze the Hiring Pulse dataset. For Time to Fill and Candidates per Hire, we measured each month against the average of 2019, the last ‘normal’ year, using it as a baseline index of 100. However, things are changing. We’ve decided to update our process and use our real numbers to more accurately reflect current trends.

Our Workable network data is extensive, and we’re excited to share it with you to provide a clearer picture of the current market trends. With clients and candidates from all over the globe, this data offers valuable insights into what’s happening right now.

For job openings, we’re taking a different route – simply, the average number of job postings per company. This gives us the opportunity to gauge overall recruitment activity and whether that’s going up or down. We’re keeping this metric as is because we believe it provides valuable insights.

Want a more detailed methodology? Jump to the end and check it out.

As always, we look at the worldwide trends for three common SMB hiring metrics:

Time to Fill (TTF)

Total Job Openings (JO)

Candidates per Hire (CPH)

Let’s start analyzing!

1. Time to Fill

For this report, Workable defines “Time to Fill” as the number of days from when a new job is opened to when that job opening is filled. It’s important to understand that definition: jobs that are still open as of the end of July are not included in this graph as they don’t yet have an “end date”. Only the jobs that are filled are included here.

Quick clarification: from now on, the data in this chart shows the actual number of days in TTF in the Workable network.

Let’s have a look at the monthly TTF trend through to the end of July, based on jobs that have been filled:

In July 2024, several factors contributed to the extended time companies are taking to fill job positions. 

The recent stabilization of interest rates, following aggressive hikes in 2022 and 2023, has led to cautious hiring practices due to lingering financial uncertainties and high borrowing costs. 

Seasonal factors also play a significant role in the hiring slowdown. Summer typically sees a decrease in business activity due to vacations and holiday schedules, both of which can delay recruitment processes.

Many decision-makers and potential candidates are often on vacation, leading to slower communication and prolonged hiring timelines. 

Moreover, the stabilization of hybrid work models has introduced challenges in finding candidates who can effectively work both remotely and on-site. 

Worker expectations for better conditions, flexibility, and benefits have further complicated the hiring process, leading to prolonged negotiations. 

As businesses navigate these seasonal, economic, and societal dynamics, the time-to-fill positions remain longer than usual.

Top five functions with the best Time to Fill for July

Another new addition to the hiring pulse. We decided to include a chart on the “Top Five Functions with the Best Time to Fill” to clearly display which functions had the most efficient hiring processes last month. 

This visual representation highlights the functions with the shortest Time to Fill, offering a straightforward snapshot of their recruitment performance and allowing for quick comparisons.

Distribution led with an impressive 14.8 days, followed by Public Relations at 23 days. Financial Analyst positions took an average of 25.8 days to fill, while Advertising roles averaged 27.5 days. Administrative roles had the longest Time to Fill at 32.4 days, but considering the average of 44.2 days, this is clearly a big win. 

Functions with faster Time to Fill, such as Distribution and Public Relations, typically benefit from clear job requirements, strong employer branding, and efficient recruitment processes. 

High demand for specific skills and the effective use of technology also play crucial roles in speeding up hiring. These factors help streamline candidate sourcing, evaluation, and decision-making, leading to quicker fills for open positions.

Did we say open positions? Let’s move to our next metric: total job openings

2. Total Job Openings

Total job openings represent the total number of job openings activated across the entire Workable network.

As stated above, we’re displaying this as an average of job postings per company in the network. And because this is not contingent on job opened/filled dates like TTF and Candidates per Hire, we can simply look at the raw job open numbers up to the end of June.

Examining the four company size categories – 1-50, 51-200, 200+, and the overall average – provides valuable insights into the current hiring trends.

Small Businesses (1-50 FTEs): In July 2024, the number of job openings increased to 6.6 from 6.1 in June 2024 and 5.6 in July 2023. This uptick may indicate a renewed confidence in hiring among small businesses, suggesting a rebound or increased activity compared to the previous month and the same time last year.

Medium Businesses (51-200 FTEs): Job openings in medium-sized businesses rose to 6.3 in July 2024 from 6.2 in June 2024 and 5.2 in July 2023. This slight increase aligns with a trend of sustained or growing demand for new hires, indicating ongoing business expansion or a response to higher turnover rates.

Enterprises (200+ FTEs): Large enterprises saw a marginal increase in job openings to 17.0 in July 2024 from 15.3 in June 2024 and 16.2 in July 2023. This rise might reflect a strategic adjustment towards gradual expansion or shifting workforce needs, following a period of reduced hiring in the previous month.

Overall average: The combined average for all company sizes rose to 7.9 in July 2024 from 7.3 in June 2024 and 7.1 in July 2023. This increase aligns with broader trends indicating that U.S. employment likely grew at a slow but still healthy pace in July. 

This trend may help alleviate concerns about a rapid labor market deterioration, which had been raised by the unemployment rate reaching a 2-1/2-year high of 4.1% in June. 

Additionally, the Naukri JobSpeak Index reported positive growth in hiring across all experience levels in July, with the finance and medical sectors showing notable increases of 28% and 22%, respectively. These improvements contributed to the overall recovery in the job market.

Let’s move on now to our next metric: Candidate per Hire

3. Candidates per Hire

Workable defines the number of candidates per hire (CPH) as, succinctly, the number of applicants for a job up to the point of that job being filled. 

For the first time in this Pulse, we’re unveiling the actual number of candidates across the Workable network, moving away from the index of 100 that we’ve relied on for so long.

Let’s look at what’s going on here through July:

Candidates continue to surge, actively seeking new opportunities, and this summer is no exception. We’re eager to see what September has in store for us.

Another reason for this surge may be the increased use of HR technology. At Workable, sourcing candidates with AI is easier than ever, helping to expand your talent pipeline. 

These numbers may reflect the rise in candidates for each job position, especially considering that 37% of jobs now leverage AI-sourced candidates by Workable.

Let’s now compare these numbers to the year-over-year data.

In June 2024, we saw a slight decrease to 168 candidates per hire from last year’s peak. However, this month has returned to normal levels (175.7), keeping 2024 a promising year for talent acquisition.

This could suggest a continued high level of competition in the job market.

What’s going on here?

In the latest Hiring Pulse report, the average Time to Fill has increased, reflecting a more cautious hiring approach due to economic uncertainties, seasonal slowdowns, and shifting worker expectations. 

The efficiency of hiring processes varies by function, with Distribution and Public Relations roles being filled most quickly. This trend indicates that companies are taking more time to make hiring decisions amid ongoing market complexities.

Job openings have risen across all company sizes, suggesting a steady increase in recruitment activity. Additionally, the number of candidates per hire remains high, indicating a competitive job market bolstered by advanced HR technologies like AI.

These trends highlight a dynamic hiring landscape where businesses must navigate economic and societal factors to optimize their recruitment strategies.

Thoughts, comments, disagreements? Send them to [email protected], with “Hiring Pulse” in the subject heading. We’ll share the best feedback in an upcoming report. Watch for our next Hiring Pulse in July!

The Hiring Pulse: Methodology

Because one of the three metrics (Job Openings) is different from the other two metrics (Time to Fill and Candidates per Hire), we’re adopting two very distinct methodologies.

To bring the best insights to small and medium (and enterprise-level) businesses worldwide, here’s what we’re doing with the Job Openings metric: we’re taking the number of job openings in a given month and dividing that by the number of active companies in our dataset, and posting that as an average. For example, if July 2022 shows the average Job Openings per company as 7.7, that simply means each company posted an average of 7.7 jobs that month.

For the Time to Fill and Candidates per Hire metrics, we’re updating our presentation approach to reflect the actual numbers from our network, moving away from the previous index-based method. This change will provide a more accurate and transparent view of the data.

The majority of the data is sourced from businesses across the Workable network, making it a powerful resource for SMBs when planning their own hiring strategy.