Hiring Picks Up, But Candidates Stymie Employers

Hiring has come back “fast and furiously,” with 86% of employers hiring right now, a 13% increase from 2020. iHire’s 2021 State of Online Recruiting Report also found that more than two-thirds of employers increased hiring within the past year, while just 21% expressed concern about limited hiring budgets in the next 12 months.

All of this hiring demand is taking place during an acute talent shortage, iHire found. Despite the 5.9% U.S. unemployment rate and potentially deep talent pools, 74% of employers reported “too few qualified candidates” among their most significant online recruiting challenges.

“Economic recovery is underway as businesses rebuild from Covid-19, but our research suggests that companies are still experiencing a shortage of qualified talent, although 9.5 million Americans are unemployed,” said President and CEO Steve Flook. And, Flook noted, both employers and candidates are operating under a “a triple-whammy of unemployment, remote work and the rise in professionals contemplating career changes.”

At the same time, 77% anticipate a shortage of qualified applicants throughout the coming year. That makes 2021 the third straight year that the survey identified candidate quality as the foremost hiring challenge.

Job Boards Live

Talent acquisition’s dependence on job boards deepened, with 59% of employers increasing their use of online solutions over the past year. About 50% said they do most of their recruiting through job boards, whole 23 said they do all their recruiting that way. However, employers are also leveraging referrals (used by 71% of respondents), social media (57%) and their websites (50%) to source talent.

“Unresponsive candidates,” meaning those who don’t reply in some way after employers contact them, is a top concern for employers. On the other hand, 49% of candidates said the same thing about employers: They’re frustrated with applying for jobs and receiving no response.

Finally, there’s a difference of opinion on the future of remote work. Despite all the attention given to working from home during 2020, just 26% of employers expect to see continued candidate interest in remote work in the coming year. Job seeker responses don’t support that view, however. Only 17% of job seekers said they struggle to find remote work when searching for jobs online, and a just 19% foresee difficulty finding remote work in the next 12 months.

You can access iHire’s report here.

Image: iHire

Authors

Mark Feffer

Mark Feffer is executive editor of RecruitingDaily and the HCM Technology Report. He’s written for TechTarget, HR Magazine, SHRM, Dice Insights, TLNT.com and TalentCulture, as well as Dow Jones, Bloomberg and Staffing Industry Analysts. He likes schnauzers, sailing and Kentucky-distilled beverages.