Weekly Hourly Hiring Report 5/11/21

How COVID-19 is affecting hourly work

Weekly Hourly Hiring Report 5/11/21

Highlights

Overall jobs are up 58% compared to pre-pandemic norms, down 3% month over month and up 99% year over year.

The Labor Department reported Friday that 226,000 jobs were added in April, far fewer than the 1 million jobs many economists predicted. But this doesn’t mean what it seems at face value—employers are actively hiring and the lag in filling open roles is part of the disconnect.

In fact, in a recent Snagajob survey, 99% of employers reported they are currently hiring and 92% do not have the staff they need to operate at full capacity. 

The reasons workers aren’t re-entering the workforce vary. State and federal unemployment benefits are a big part of the reason for lower skilled workers. In a recent Bank of America report, American workers making $32,000 or less annually are better-served by unemployment—particularly when compounded by childcare challenges. 

To address the labor shortage, many states are  Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, and South Carolina announced this week that they will stop participating in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) which gives qualifying jobless Americans $300 per week on top of state unemployment benefits through September 6, 2021. These states are transitioning back to pre-pandemic unemployment insurance eligibility and benefits by the end of June. We expect more states will follow.

Finally, the competition for workers is nearing a fever pitch as companies get really creative to attract workers. Did you see Chipotle’s headline yesterday? We will continue to share data-supported ways for employers to stand out to job applicants—we talk to hourly workers daily and point them to your jobs often.  

Jobs

All industry data is from 3/2/20-5/10/21

Here are the latest job numbers by industry:

Quick service restaurant (QSR) jobs are down 31% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing a 2% month over month decline and a 7% year over year decline.

Sit-down restaurant jobs are down 27% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing 4% month over month growth and 33% year over year growth.

Warehouse and logistics jobs are up 189% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing a 19% month over month decline and a 118% year over year decline.

Retail jobs are down 9% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing 8% month over month growth and 40% year over year growth.

Grocery jobs are up 77% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing 40% month over month growth and 49% year over year growth. 

Hospitality jobs are up 192% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing 39% month over month growth and 266% year over year growth.

On demand jobs are up 140% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing a 12% month over month decline and 208% year over year growth.

Convenience store jobs are down 26% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing 2% month over month growth and 3% year over year growth.

Healthcare jobs are up 87% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing 20% month over month growth and 87% year over year growth.

Workers

Google searches for hourly jobs are up 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.