Employer Resource
5 Workforce Predictions for 2019
The top 5 hiring trends predicted for 2019 were: increased focus on candidate experience, data-driven hiring practices, employer branding as a key differentiator, rise of "soft skills" in job descriptions, and the growing importance of diversity and inclusion initiatives; essentially highlighting a shift towards more transparent, candidate-centric recruitment strategies utilizing data analytics to identify the best fit for a role.
1. Data-driven matching will be the new paradigm for hiring.
Job boards revolutionized hiring in the ’90s. Big data will make the next fundamental change.
The Old Paradigm:
- Keyword-based search
- Candidate-driven
- Applicant quality hit or miss
The New Paradigm:
- Curated sets of job recommendations
- Machine-learning-assisted matching
- Better pools of quality applicants
2. The new era of tech hiring will be for non-tech jobs.
The tech industry has been a jobs-creation engine for tech roles, but that’s shifting as it matures.
In the Past: Hiring focused on tech roles as startups got up & running.
- Software engineers, developers, data scientists, etc.
In the Future: Hiring focused on non-tech roles as businesses scale.
•Sales reps, marketers, human resources, project managers, etc.
Current Ratio of Jobs in the Tech Industry:
- 57% Tech Jobs
- 43% Non-Tech Jobs
3. More companies will try to get diversity, inclusion, and belonging right.
Employers have been focused on diversity, but a new era of inclusion and belonging is here.
Without inclusion, diversity is a hollow statistical goal.
- 34% of U.S. workers say they feel a sense of belonging at work.
Belonging helps build better-performing teams.
- 40% of employees say social exclusion makes them stressed.
4. A tidal wave of aging workers could mean labor shortages for decades.
Retiring Baby Boomers and a smaller population of young workers pose hiring challenges.
- 7M current job openings in the U.S.: By 2020, the labor force will only be growing at 0.4% annually.
Tight labor markets will become the “new normal” for decades to come.
- The solution: Workplace education and training.
5. More job seekers and employers will brace for an economic recession.
Signs of a Recession:
- Interest rates are being raised by the Federal Reserve
- Housing market is slowing
- Corporate debt riskiness is rising
Odds of a 2019 Recession:
- 15% median odds of a recession happening in the next year
- 35% odds of a recession happening over the next two years
Verdict: Unlikely in next 6–12 months
Discover how to get ready for what’s coming in 2019 — Read the full report!