You’ve heard the news for months: “There is a war on for talent” and in fact, 40% of employers say they struggled to find talented candidates to fill jobs in 2016. But why is that? As we embark on another New Year, ETS is giving you insight into the employment climate of 2017 with our 3 part blog series The Impact: 2017 Employment Trends.
In Part 2 – ETS Trend Analysis – ETS Business Intelligence Analyst, Billy Davis, discusses what Unemployment Rate, Labor Force Participation Rate and the GDP forecast mean for retention, turnover, and attracting talent in 2017.
Key takeaways from Part 1 – Labor Statistics and Data – driving the current employment and hiring environment in our region:

  • Current unemployment rates are low and trending downward
  • The Labor Force participation rate is currently at a 35+ year low due to many factors
  • According to GDP projections the 2017 US economy will grow by over 2%

These factors contribute to a tight labor market. Here’s what the realities of today’s hiring landscape mean for your business:
Retention and Turnover

  • A lower unemployment rate and increased number of jobs means employers now need to focus on retaining current employees more than ever. The US economy is strong, as we’ve seen and companies are growing vulnerable to losing the talent they already have.
  • Your employees will be highly sought after by other companies (This is especially true for hard to find skillsets)
  • As the economy grows and your production demand will increase, you will need to rely on the experienced workers in your facility, to maintain productivity and hit goals
  • Lower turnover is great for your employer brand and will help you attract new talent as the need arises.
  • As more irresistible opportunities abound, employees are enticed to try out a new position
  • High turnover rates aren’t good for business. One key employee turning over can be expensive in dollars and time when it comes to recruiting, training and lost productivity costs. Harder to factor is the cost of loss in morale, increased burden on existing employees and employment brand damage

Attracting Talent

  • Recruiting is a lot like marketing, but with candidates instead of customers. Marketers talk about the shift from the Product Age (any color you want as long as it’s black) to the Customer Age (learn what your customers want, then compete to give it to them.) With a shrinking talent pool and low unemployment rate, we have gone through the same transition in finding and attracting talent
  • The number of job seekers has fallen and thus created a highly competitive war for talent
  • Reaching the passive candidate (candidates who are employed already but passively looking for a new opportunity) market becomes essential
  • With a shortage of skilled labor on the market, recruiting qualified candidates becomes more difficult
  • Candidates are becoming more selective as the options for opportunities, better pay, more robust benefit packages and job perks grow

Continue to Part 3 of our blog series “The Impact: 5 to Thrive” where we conclude the series with five actionable items to help combat the employment challenges for 2017 and keep your company on a path to growth and success.
Want to know more? ETS can give you a personal in-depth analyses of current hiring trends for the Champlain Valley. To set up a meeting, give us a call at 518.562.4673.