They say “August is like the Sunday of summer” and we couldn’t agree more. Amidst mid-year audits and vacations, I want to make sure you get a sense of the big picture of IT recruiting and staffing–
- First, the July Job Report: The U.S. added a higher number of jobs than expected: 255,000 (up 18% from July 2015). Following suit, staffing employment grew by 2.4% while IT staffing is racing ahead with a 3.6% increase YOY. We’re seeing more open positions now than in previous years.
- Tech Workforce Trends: Cybersecurity, Cloud, and Big Data make the list >> Top 10 Hottest Tech Skills to Have Right Now
- Time Off To Vote: With election day just around the corner, employers should announce the voting time off policy. Legally, employees are entitled to up to 2 hours PTO to vote. The trend among Silicon Valley (e.g. Twitter, Spotify, Autodesk) is to do more by offering 4 hours of PTO. Some companies are giving the whole day off if employees volunteer at the polls. An awesome example of employee and civic engagement.
- Flex Time and Employee Retention: Flex work schedules are the next big thing and a great retention strategy. >> Why Flex Work Schedules Rock
Did you know? Staffing numbers received a seasonal boost from the recent Republican and Democratic National Convention, which brought a combined 100,000 visitors to Cleveland and Philadelphia. However, the biggest event in July was San Diego Comic-Con: over 170,000 visitors. That’s a lot of people who were paid to run around in capes! Check out our blog post on >>Superhero Recruiting Tips From the Marvel Universe.
* Sources: Labor Department, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Wall Street Journal, American Staffing Association, TechServe Alliance, CNN