Neither ongoing recruiting challenges nor the threat of a potential recession will deter Capital Region employers from moving ahead with plans to increase hiring in 2023, according to the fall 2022 Alaant Hiring Index released by Alaant Workforce Solutions, the region’s leading professional workforce services firm.
The Alaant Hiring Index is based on a survey conducted between Nov. 9 and Dec. 11 that generated responses from 95 Capital Region hiring and human resource managers—48 from companies with 100 or fewer employees, and 47 from firms with more than 100 employees.
Asked about 2023, 68 percent were very optimistic or optimistic about job growth, with 26 percent unsure and only 6 percent very pessimistic or pessimistic, according to Alaant.
Additionally, 55 percent expect hiring to increase in the new year, with 36 percent seeing no change and only 9 percent forecasting a decrease. And, 76 percent of employers say concerns about a possible recession will not reduce their plans for hiring.
Tempering those expectations are the continuing difficulties in recruiting top professionals: 70 percent of employers expect hiring to be very challenging or challenging in the first six months of 2023, though 25 percent see the situation improving. The biggest challenge remains a labor shortage, cited by 47 percent of employers, which more than doubled other contributing factors, such as salary and wage demands (20 percent) and a skills gap (14 percent), the study indicated.
“Employers are optimistic about hiring and job growth in the new year, even as the challenges in recruiting and retaining top talent remain,” said Miriam Dushane, managing partner of Alaant Workforce Solutions. “We’re encouraged to see employers responding proactively by raising salaries, supporting hybrid and remote work, allowing flexibility, and streamlining their hiring processes. They will need to double down on those efforts in 2023 to attract, hire and keep great employees in a job market that is historically tight and extraordinarily competitive.”
A vast majority of employers, 77 percent, said they are increasing salaries to attract and retain employees, and 59 percent say they’ve altered their recruiting process to expedite hiring.
However, when asked if they’re considering remote workers to fill open positions, employers remain hesitant: 41 percent say yes, while 59 percent say no. In addition, 39 percent say the remote and hybrid work trend has made it easier to hire, with 42 percent seeing no change, and 19 percent saying it’s made hiring more difficult.
As the new year gets underway, just over half of employers – 51 percent – say they have transitioned to, and will remain, a hybrid and/or remote workplace. Of the rest, 29 percent have mandated an in-office work policy for 2023; 3 percent plan to during the year; and 17 percent are still discussing their policy.
Looking back at 2022, 72 percent of employers saw hiring increase from the previous year; 19 percent saw no change; and 9 percent reported a decrease in hiring. IT topped the list of fastest-growing jobs at 14 percent, followed by engineering (13 percent) and healthcare (10 percent). A majority of employers, 58 percent, said they are primarily recruiting employees from within their region.
The Alaant Hiring Index was launched in 2015. It is a measure of the Capital Region’s job market, used by organizations across a wide range of industries to inform their recruiting strategies, according to the company.
The next index will be released in Spring 2023.
For more information, visit www.alaant.com.
Over the past decade, Alaant said it has helped more than 400 Capital Region companies attract, acquire, engage and retain over 4,000 elite employees through its innovative practice areas, such as Talent Acquisition Partnerships and Employer Brand Strategy. It has been recognized by Forbes for five consecutive years (2017 through 2021) as one of America’s best recruiting firms. It has received the Best of Staffing Client Award and Best of Staffing Talent Award from ClearlyRated for the past six and four years, respectively; was selected by HR Tech Outlook as one of the nation’s Top 10 Employer Branding Consulting/Services Companies for 2019; and was named by NYS-SHRM in 2020 as one of the Best Companies to Work for in New York.