State Of The Economy
“You can make positive deposits in your own economy every day by reading and listening to powerful, positive, life-changing content and by associating with encouraging and hope-building people.” -Zig Ziglar
Things change, they always do. More recently the economy has been full of change with plenty of ups and downs as a result of the global pandemic. Not only has there been economic change, but also a change in how people work with remote opportunities becoming more of the norm. Along with this change has come a shift in ‘power’ in the workforce from employers to employees. A lot of people are starting to believe this change is slowly shifting back to employers but is this true? Let’s take a look at the current state of the economy and how it affects employees and those looking for work.
Layoffs & Fewer Job Opportunities
Tech giants such as Meta, Google and Netflix have been doing company wide layoffs recently. Is this a trend? Is this related to the possibility of a recession? Let’s back up to the start of the pandemic to set the tone.
According to Dan Davenport, the CEO and co-founder of Randstad RiseSmart, a global leader in the HR services industry, “everybody was trying to do everything possible to hang on to every employee that they had.”
It makes sense that a situation (such as a pandemic) would cause companies to do everything they could to retain employees. Companies might even hire extra employees to navigate through the unknown. Here at DyNexus Recruiting, we’ve definitely seen a hiring increase in the ERP space over the last couple of years. Honestly there has been more of a demand for Acumatica and Sage consultants than there are consultants to fill those needs. However, with things starting to normalize, and the threat of a possible recession, we’re starting to see tech companies slim down and slow down their hiring activity. Change is in the air!
Airlines, hotels, and restaurants, however, face the opposite problem as their businesses continue to pick up following the era of Covid-induced shutdowns. After implementing mass layoffs early in the pandemic, they can’t hire quickly enough to satisfy demand and are dealing with a labor market that’s much different from the one they experienced over two years ago.
“The pandemic created very unique, once-in-a-lifetime conditions in many different industries that caused a dramatic reallocation of capital,” says Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter. “Many of those conditions no longer apply so you’re seeing a reallocation of capital back to more normal patterns.”
Is The Great Resignation Over?
With all this change in the air you might be asking yourself if you missed your opportunity to join the ‘Great Resignation’ movement. With the talk of a possible recession, there has been a lot of buzz about this. But the stats say otherwise. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ official website shows that despite a growing global economic crisis, workers are continuing to leave (or at least considering leaving) their jobs. More than 4 million people in the US quit their jobs in June of this year.
A new survey from US management consultants McKinsey suggests the Great Resignation isn’t going away anytime soon. It found that 40% of people surveyed in six countries are unhappy at work and are considering leaving their job in the near future.
It isn’t just making more money that’s driving the global surge, according to the survey: 41% of people in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, India and Singapore said a lack of prospects and professional growth was the main reason they had resigned from a job.
The good news for you is that more and more companies are catching up to current demands. They continue to focus more on benefits in addition to compensation. They encourage and support career development and ensure their leaders inspire employees. To keep and attract a new generation of workers, an ongoing conscious effort must be made for this to be the new norm.
Final Thoughts
With so much uncertainty it’s always nice to circle back to the facts.. As an employee in the workforce, we think you will find this last bit of information from the US Department of Labor to be very encouraging. In the second quarter of 2022, the U.S. economy added over 1 million jobs (1.12 million, pending revisions to June 2022 data). The quarterly average was 375,000 jobs.
Stay the course and always remember that the world (and the labor market) will always have ups and downs, but there will always be a need for workers. As we referenced earlier this summer on our blog, being prepared is always an important attribute to have as an employee and will always keep you a step ahead of the competition.
As always here at DyNexus Recruiting, we’re proud to provide you with services to help you along your professional journey. Whether you are looking for full time employment, or employment as a contractor, our team of ERP recruiting professionals is here to help and would love to be of assistance.