Recruiting Trends, 2018-2019. 48th Edition. Part I: Hiring Outlook
Author: Gardner, Phil
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Labor Market,Recruitment,Employers,Employees,Trend Analysis,Personnel Selection,Internship Programs,College Graduates,Industry,Business,Job Applicants,Organizations (Groups),Organization Size (Groups),Occupational Surveys,Employment Patterns,Employment Opportunities,Small Businesses,Labor Turnover,Talent Development,College Students,Salaries,Employment,Associate Degrees,Bachelors Degrees,Masters Degrees,Doctoral Degrees,Cooperatives,Intention

This year approximately 3,300 employers attempted the survey with 2.560 providing enough information to be included in our analyses. Seventy-three percent (1859 respondents) are recruiters seeking full-time talent or hiring managers overseeing talent acquisition within their organizations. Other contributors include internship and co-op managers (11%), recruiters seeking experienced talent (10%), and those filling short-term assignments of six months or less (7%). The results presented here focus on the information provided in this and subsequent briefs by full-time recruiters, hiring managers, and internship and co-op managers. The respondents represent the rich diversity of companies and organizations seeking new college talent. Seventy-seven percent represented organizations with fewer than 500 employers: 28% fewer than 49 employees, 12% 50 to 99 employees and 25% 100 to 499 employees. Large organizations comprised 23% of the response: 19% 500 to 3,999 employees, 9% 4,000 to 24,999, and 6% over 25,000 employees. The number of large organizations is down slightly from levels reported the last two years. Every major industrial sector (based on major NAIC codes) provided information for this survey. Sectors providing the highest number of respondents included: construction, educational services, finance and insurance services, healthcare and social assistance, manufacturing, and business, professional, and scientific services. An employer from every state and several territories appeared among the respondents. The respondents were geographically distributed across the country. States providing the highest number of respondents included: California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Texas, and Wisconsin. Eighty-three percent of respondents reported that they hired at least one new college graduate during the 2017-18 academic year. Even better news is found among the seventeen percent of employers who were not actively hiring last year as 86 % are entering the college market this year. In examining these expectations in more detail, we find only two percent of those who hired last year do not intend to hire any new personnel this year. The employer outlook continues to brighten. The vast majority (93%, up 4 percentage points) described the overall new college labor market as good to excellent. Their average annual rating of 3.75 is a .35 improvement over last year. This is the best outlook since the recession's bottom in 2009. Employers in this survey express the highest level of optimism in the labor market since the late 1990s. [For &quot;Recruiting Trends, 2017-2018. 47th Edition. Brief 1: Hiring Outlook for the Class of 2017-18, Including Hiring Plans by Organization Size,&quot; see ED586477. For &quot;Recruiting Trends, 2018-2019. 48th Edition. Part II: Recruiting Challenges, Tough Positions, Improving Recruiting and Major Hiring Outlook,&quot; see ED593320.]