11 Jan, 2014
The U.S. hourly-job market: Four key trends for 2014
KIRKLAND, Wash.-January 07, 2014-(BUSINESS WIRE)–The hourly jobs segment will continue to grow in 2014, particularly in part time and temporary positions, and more people will search and apply for jobs from mobile devices than from computers. In this environment it will be critical for companies to embrace mobile technology and streamline the hiring processes.
More than one million new positions were added to the hourly jobs segment in 2013, but applying for a job using the current system represents both a cost of over one billion man-hours devoted to manual pre-screening practices and an unnecessary barrier for people seeking employment. Jobaline.com, a mobile hourly-jobs marketplace, has released its trend forecast for 2014.
“It is not about the web becoming mobile; the web is mobile,” said Luis Salazar CEO of Jobaline.com. In 2013, Jobaline.com processed more than 225,000 job applications, and almost 40 percent of applicants preferred mobile Internet or text messaging to complete the applications. “Not having a mobile recruiting solution will become a serious competitive disadvantage in 2014. It is going to be a very competitive market as we are observing an increase in wages in selected sectors, signaling more demand than supply of qualified workers. For the first time ever, more people will search and apply for jobs from mobile devices than from computers, and job seekers are five to ten times more likely to abandon an online job application if it is not mobile friendly,” Salazar said.
Stronger Hourly Job Market
Trends observed by Jobaline.com indicate a stronger than average market for part-time and temporary hourly jobs. During a recession hourly jobs typically represent only 21 percent of the total job losses; however, they make up 57 percent of new jobs created during times of economic growth. As the economy continues to improve in 2014, expect a growth of over one million new positions in the hourly jobs sector with hospitality, food and beverage, retail and skilled labor for construction and manufacturing leading the sector; increase in wages will drive real income growth with the consequent positive impact in the economy.
Operational Focus on Reducing Recruiting Inefficiencies
In 2014, companies will not only need to compete for the best talent but also increase their speed to hire and minimize the time devoted to inefficient manual pre-screening processes. Evolve estimates there was more than $350 billion spent in 2013 on recruiting inefficiencies and attrition in the hourly jobs segment, and Jobaline.com estimated more than one billion hours will be devoted to the task of prescreening job applicants. Mobile prescreening and real-time matching technologies will play an important role in helping companies compete for the valuable hourly workers.
Marketing Departments Will Focus on Job-Seeker’s Experience
Expect a tighter collaboration between marketing, operations and HR as the job-seeker experience will be a critical element to focus on from the brand marketing point of view. The 40 million hourly workers who represent the frontline for many companies in the hospitality, food and beverage and retail industries are also their customers. What job seekers experience when applying for a job can turn these 40 million people into brand advocates or detractors.
More Job Searches Will Happen From Mobile Devices Than Computers
According to ComScore, 10.9 million workers searched for jobs using mobile devices in August 2013, a 290 percent increase versus August 2012, and today nearly one-third of online job searches come from mobile devices. This mobile trend will consolidate in 2014 within all segments – from the professional workers, to the hourly workers served by Jobaline.com – and more than 50 percent of the activity related to business networking and recruitment will happen through mobile devices. In 2014 the hourly jobs segment will experience the highest growth of all and with most job seekers preferring mobile applications, mobile technology will be critical to streamline processes and save companies time, energy and money in recruiting much needed workers.
“As the hourly-jobs sector continues to grow in 2014, mobile technologies and real-time matching based on attitude and observed behavior rather than uploaded resumes or dated application forms will result in better hires and reduced attrition,” said Mel Kleiman, president of Humetrics and expert in recruiting and retaining frontline talents.
For more information, visit www.jobaline.com.
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