Fall 2015 Hiring Trends

Marcianne Kuethen

November 2, 2015

Do you know what the fastest growing job in the U.S. is right now? From flexible work preferences and fast-track hiring to minimum wage increases, here are just a few news items that may impact you as employers, CEOs, and managers in the coming months:

Salaries On the Rise in the Finance Sector

The average starting salary for accounting and finance professionals is expected to increase by 4.7% in 2016, according to one large staffing company. This is the highest increase for the sector in the past four years, and is a slightly higher forecast than the expected 4.1% increase for all professional jobs. Accounting and finance professionals with specialized skills, such as tax and information technology, can expect their starting wages to rise more than 5%, as they’re increasingly expected to help businesses meet regulatory requirements and strengthen internal controls.

Surprise: The Nation’s Fastest-Growing Job

“Human resource specialist” is the fastest-growing job in the U.S., according to an analysis of 793 jobs in the country’s biggest metropolitan areas by American City Business Journals. The occupation had an annual growth rate of 18.1% from 2009 to 2014. In the 106 biggest metro areas, the number of HR specialists increased from approximately 198,000 in 2009 to 456,000 in 2014.

The national average pay last year for an HR specialist was $62,590. The rate of increase over the past five years was 2.8%—significantly higher than the 1.7% average for all U.S. employees.

Workplace Flexibility Is a Top Attractor for Three-Fourths of Working Adults

A new survey reveals that employees continue to want more and more flexibility at work, yet employers are reducing their offerings. As the labor market continues to tighten, employers may be surprised at their attrition rates to companies that offer flexible work options.

CareerBuilder Survey Shows Employer Support for Minimum Wage Increase

According to a recent CareerBuilder survey, 64% of employers believe the minimum wage should be increased in their state, up from 62% last year. While nearly one in five workers (19%) said they could not make ends meet every month in the last year, workers who hold or have held minimum wage jobs were much more prone to experience financial difficulties. In a survey of more than 2,300 hiring and human resource managers, 26% of employers said they plan to hire minimum wage workers this year.

Companies Are Fast-Tracking Their Hiring

Employers are experimenting with ways to hire new employees in a matter of days, or even hours, rather than weeks or months. Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., for example, made a highly publicized push last week to hire 4,000 workers in a single day across its national locations. Technology and media companies are similarly accelerating the way they acquire talent at all levels. According to managers, efforts such as delaying or forgoing reference checks and scheduling back-to-back interviews are helping fill jobs with good employees more quickly.

U.S. Jobless Claims Fall to 255,000, Match 42-Year Low

The number of people applying for unemployment benefits fell by 7,000 to 255,000 in the week ended Oct. 10, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, matching the lowest level since 1973. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast claims of 270,000. The four-week average of new claims fell by 2,250 to a seasonally adjusted 265,000, the smallest amount since 1973.

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