Tech Workforce & Hiring Trends - April 2023
Tags: hiring, news, techworkforce, employmentlaw
Published: 2023-04-20 18:43:31

This is Stout's monthly curated digest of hiring and employment news. [Sign up](https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/Lj2eyb8/stoutnewsletter) to receive it each month in your email inbox.

## Labor Market

The March employment report confirmed indications of a stabilizing labor market. Additionally, the report indicated an increase in the labor force participation rate to 62.6%, the highest level since March 2020, suggesting that workers are gradually returning to the labor market. Overall, the jobs report was strong and represents a steady step towards balancing out the labor market. [Read more from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm).

## Technical Interviewing

Nowadays when it comes to hiring a software developer, every hiring manager takes a different approach to qualifying candidates in the technical interview. In this month's Informatizer article, we list some common approaches and share one of our favorites. [Read more from Stout Systems](https://www.stoutsystems.com/conducting-the-the-technical-interview/).

## Challenges in Tech Hiring

Recent layoff announcements from Meta to Palantir and Eventbrite are further proof that tech companies are still shedding workers. Even so, it’s harder to find and retain tech talent, according to a survey of 1,000 human resources professionals. The mismatch is two-fold: the time it takes to hire is too long, and hiring overlooks underrepresented groups. [Read more from CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/18/despite-mass-layoffs-led-by-meta-its-still-hard-to-fill-tech-jobs.html).

## Right to Work

On March 24, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation repealing Michigan's right-to-work law for private-sector employees. The legislation had previously passed the Michigan House of Representatives on March 8 and the Michigan Senate on March 21. Both bills passed along party lines. [Read more from SHRM](https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/legal-and-compliance/state-and-local-updates/pages/michigan-law-right-to-work.aspx).

## AI Regulations in Hiring

New York City has introduced new rules to regulate the use of Automated Employment Decision Tools (AEDTs) by employers to prevent biased hiring. Companies using AEDTs must inform job applicants, perform annual bias checks, and establish a complaints procedure. Non-compliance may result in significant penalties and fines. [Read more from The National Law Review](https://www.natlawreview.com/article/employer-alert-new-york-city-issues-final-rules-automated-employment-decision-tools).

## Future of Hiring

HR leaders are optimistic about hiring and retaining workers over the next few months. And that confidence comes despite expectations of a recession in 2023 and news of layoffs. Indeed, three-quarters of Chief Human Resource Officers (CHROs) expect hiring to stay steady or even ramp up over the next six months. That’s according to The Conference Board CHRO Confidence Index for the first quarter of 2023. [Read more from The Conference Board](https://www.conference-board.org/press/leaders-confident-about-hiring-retaining-workers/).

## Featured Candidates Available for Hire

- [Candidate 14147 — Project Manager, Product Planner, Program Planner](https://www.stoutsystems.com/candidate/14147/)
- [Candidate 410 — Tech Lead, Architect Associate, Senior Engineer](https://www.stoutsystems.com/candidate/410/)
- [Candidate 8798 — Senior Full Stack Web Developer](https://www.stoutsystems.com/candidate/8798/)
- [Candidate 12042 — Software/Web Engineer](https://www.stoutsystems.com/candidate/12042/)
- [Candidate 7120 — Software Developer](https://www.stoutsystems.com/candidate/7120/)

To browse a sampling of our candidates that have been through our [21 point screening process](https://www.stoutsystems.com/technical-staffing-services-michigan-based/), [visit our candidate directory page](https://www.stoutsystems.com/candidates).

_This is Stout's monthly curated digest of hiring and employment news. [Sign up](https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/Lj2eyb8/stoutnewsletter) to receive it each month in your email inbox._

_If you're looking for a job in the tech industry, [visit our job board](https://www.stoutsystems.com/jobs) to see if you qualify for some of our positions. If you're looking to hire technical talent for your company, please [contact us](https://www.stoutsystems.com/connect/)._

_[Stout Systems](https://www.stoutsystems.com/) is the software consulting and staffing company Fueled by the Most Powerful Technology Available: Human Intelligence®. We were founded in 1993 and are based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. We have clients across the U.S. in domains including engineering, scientific, manufacturing, education, marketing, entertainment, small business and robotics. We provide expert level software, Web and embedded systems development consulting and staffing services along with direct-hire technical recruiting and placements._