Weekly Hourly Hiring Report 2/2/22

Highlights

Overall, hourly jobs are up 158% over pre-pandemic norms of March 2020. Taking a closer look, hourly jobs remain up 2% month-over-month, and up 78% from this time last year. Google searches for hourly jobs are down 13% year-over-year.

The January jobs report, coming out this Friday, is anticipated to be weak in large part due to Omicron and the potential inaccuracy of BLS survey data—data that may have been skewed by the record number of work call-outs in mid-January. Reasoning for the report aside,  employers are scratching their heads. With 10.9 million open jobs and a reported 6.3 million unemployed people, it should be easy filling vacant positions. Yet workers are not falling suit, staying out of the labor market for reasons related to Omicron or simply lack of interest in available jobs.

Businesses are left wondering if their strategies are outdated for the changing times, and many are taking new steps to find talent.

Home Depot is one organization taking a fresh approach, revamping hiring to include an accelerated hiring process that lasts just a single day. They also offer other incentives, from tuition reimbursement to cash bonuses and discounted stock options.

Among the innovative strategies businesses are taking to attract workers include:

• Having a “gateway job” approach to hiring, hiring workers with less experience and allowing them to grow into roles

• Removing requirements for skills that can be learned on the job

• Creating “on-ramp” programs that help women who left the labor force get back to work quickly

• Looking for people with skills that might not be directly related to a job, but easily transferable (like good communication or punctuality)

In other labor-related news:

• Both the White House and Federal Reserve Board are speaking out about a forecasted dismal job report out this Friday. Hinting that a large number of workers were reported as “unemployed” when they were merely out sick because of Omicron, they’re suggesting this may lead to overstated unemployment figures. We’ll cover this more in next week’s report.

• With inflation rising, businesses are anticipating an interest rate hike by the Fed. Theoretically, this will help to lower rapidly surging wages. 

• After peaking in mid-January at 800,000, new cases of the Omicron variant in the US have declined 34% (and in cities such as New York that were affected early on, cases are down 90% from their peak). 

• Top-moving job categories in hourly month-over-month hiring include: Retail (+37%), Logistics/Warehouse +27%), On Demand (-30%), and Convenience Store (-13%).

With Omnicron’s apparent decline beginning to kick in, businesses are hopeful they can start filling positions. However, many are realizing that today’s labor market is vastly different than in pre-pandemic times. To compensate, savvy teams are adjusting their hiring habits to attract workers in new ways.

Jobs

All industry data is from 3/2/20-2/02/2022

Here are the latest overall job numbers:

Overall jobs are up 158% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing a 2% month-over-month gain, and a 78% year-over-year growth.

Here are the latest job numbers by industry:

Quick service restaurant (QSR) jobs are down 35% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing an 8% month-over-month decline, and an 11% year-over-year decline.

Sit-down restaurant jobs are down 43% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing a 1% month-over-month decline, and a 7% year-over-year growth.

Warehouse and logistics jobs are up 160% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing a 27% month-over-month gain, and a 124% year-over-year growth.

Retail jobs are up 57% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing a 37% month-over-month increase, and a 146% year-over-year growth.

Grocery  jobs are up 10% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing an 11% month-over-month decline, and a 25% year-over-year decline.

Hospitality jobs are up 310% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing a 1% month-over-month decline, and a 588% year-over-year gain.

On-demand jobs are down 16% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing a 30% month-over-month decline, and a 37% year-over-year decline.

Convenience store jobs are down 29% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing a 13% month-over-month decline, and a 3% year-over-year decline.

Healthcare jobs are up 72% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing a 6% month-over-month decline, and a 23% year-over-year growth.

Workers

Google searches for hourly jobs are down 13% year over year.

The bottom line

We’ll continue to be your best resource for hourly job market insights as we collectively navigate towards our new normal and beyond.