A record-high 11 million jobs are waiting to be filled across the U.S. This boom in available openings? You can thank the Baby Boomers.

According to Pew Research Center, the rate of retirement in Baby Boomers has accelerated since the start of COVID-19 with almost 29 million boomers retiring in 2020 – An increase of more than 3 million from 2019.

With 75 million Baby Boomers retiring by 2030, The Great Retirement is looking to supersede The Great Resignation as the biggest hiring trend for 2022. Here’s what you need to know:

How will Baby Boomers retiring affect the workforce?

One in four workers in the U.S. is a Baby Boomer, amounting to 41 million total employees. This trend of mass retirement will lead to an even wider workforce gap as companies race to fill positions left by retirees. As these workers also normally hold higher-level management positions due to their extensive working experience, the competition to find replacements will be tough with many businesses turning to recruiters to look for top talent.   

Why are Baby Boomers retiring now?

While Baby Boomers fall in the generation most at-risk for COVID-19, the main driving factor for retirement isn’t health-related. They’re looking for a better quality of life.

Famous for their strong work ethic and dedication (40% have stayed with their employer for more than 20 years), Baby Boomers commit to their jobs more than any other generation. After 40+ years in the workforce and a global pandemic, they’re re-evaluating their work-life balance. With quarantine rules keeping them at home but isolated, many are choosing to trade in their 9-to-5 for more time with friends, family, and to travel.

Those most likely to retire early? Women over the age of 65 are the group with the most retirees while the Hispanic Boomer population saw the biggest increase in retirement rates. Boomers residing in the Northeastern U.S. also saw a large increase in those retiring.

What can be done to prevent a workforce gap?

While Boomers may want to spend their golden years away from the office there is a silver lining to The Great Retirement: There’s a whole new generation (and two others) ready to work. Investing in these workers and supporting their development will be crucial to closing your workforce gap. Here’s how to attract and retain young employees:

1. Offer flexibility in the workplace

Gen X workers and Millennials are often working parents or caregivers to their parents or grandparents. With quarantine rules and distance learning changing often and suddenly, you’ll need to be supportive of employees who are pulling double duty working and taking care of their family during the day. Offering more flexibility to parents by letting them work from home and by measuring their performance on results (not hours worked) will help retain valuable employees who won’t have to choose between family and their job.

2. Close skills gaps with reskilling and upskilling

Younger workers, especially Gen Z, won’t have the decades of experience that retiring Baby Boomers have. Instead of brushing-off young talent for a lack of skills, take the time to train them on the skills they need. If your company doesn’t have a formal training program ask them to enroll in online courses like our Aspire Academy. There are dozens of training courses available at no cost.

3. Mentor, don’t manage

For many young people, a position in your company may be their first professional job out of college. They don’t just need a salary but need guidance on how to progress in their careers. In a recent survey, younger workers reported wanting feedback from their managers more frequently than their older colleagues signifying they need more support to know they are doing their jobs correctly. They also rank mentorship among the three most important aspects of choosing where to work. Setting up a mentorship program will not only attract top young talent but keep them engaged and loyal to your company.

Is your company feeling the effects of The Great Retirement? At Adecco, we pride ourselves on finding and connecting top talent with the right opportunities. Learn more about our staffing solutions and keep reading our blog to discover the other top hiring trends for 2022.

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For as long as COVID-19 has been dominating the headlines so has news of the Great Resignation, a phenomenon where workers have been quitting their jobs at record rates. With there being more open positions than workers available to fill them, there’s never been a better time than now to change your job.

And Americans are taking note. According to a new Career Arc study, almost one in four workers plan to resign in the next 12 months. Are you in that group? Do you want to be? Here’s how to plan your exit strategy and quit your job in 2022:

1. Understand why you’re leaving

If you’ve been asking yourself “should I quit my job?” you’re not alone. A recent survey reports that 73% of employees are actively thinking about resigning. While it seems disliking your current job is on-trend, ask yourself why you’d leave before making any major decisions. Are you experiencing problems with your current job? Has the pandemic shifted your values?

Career Arc set out to find the real reason everyone is quitting their jobs and found that close to one-third of respondents said they were leaving their current position to look for a role with better working conditions. 23% stated they wanted to shift careers while 20% noted that they were quitting because they wanted a remote job. By determining why you’re leaving first, whether it’s for the working conditions, type of job, or something else, you’ll know what you’re looking for in your next position.

2. Decide where you want to go

Now that you’ve determined why you’re leaving your current job and what you’re looking for in your next position, create short and long-term goals for your career. When starting your job hunt, look out for opportunities that fulfill both types of your goals – you’ll be more likely to stay with that company for the long haul.

Part of setting career goals involves determining what you need to do to accomplish these objectives. Look at your resume and the skills you possess and see if there are any gaps you can work to close, especially if you’re looking at changing careers. When these gaps are closed, you’ll know when to quit your job and start sending in applications.   

3. Look for job openings

Quitting a job without another lined up can seem daunting. If you need to leave your current position now, consider temporary work or partnering with a recruiter to find work in the interim while you continue your job hunt. You’ll still get a paycheck without a commitment and you can develop new skills that will make you stand out in your applications for more permanent work.

With 84% of organizations using social media for recruiting be sure to clean up your social media profiles before sending off applications. However, if you are job hunting before quitting, don’t post anything about looking for a new position. Keep your job search on a need-to-know basis as not to impact your current work.

4. Tips for when you quit

If you’ve been feeling burnt-out at your current job you may have had a fantasy or two thinking about how you’ll finally quit and what you’ll tell your boss. While it may be fun to think about going out in a blaze of glory, remember the importance of connections – 85% of jobs are landed because of networking. That means you’ll need to keep a friendly and professional relationship with your bosses and colleagues.

When speaking to your managers about quitting make sure to highlight the gratitude you have for the opportunity given to you (even if it’s not exactly the case), and that you’ll write a formal resignation letter for your company’s HR department. Be prepared for a counteroffer from your manager but feel confident in rejecting such an offer if there’s no chance the position will be in line with your career goals. 85% of workers who accept counteroffers leave their jobs within 6 months while 90% are gone within a year. ­­­­­­­­

Ready to join in on the Great Resignation and kickstart your job hunt? Learn more about how to resign and about the job-seeking process with our in-depth job seekers guide. Be sure to stay on top of all the hiring trends for 2022 by reading more of our blog posts, and check out our current openings for any positions that align with your career goals.

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Minimum wages are set to increase in a record number of US states and municipalities in 2022. In several states, the increases are part of scheduled raises on the road to $15 per hour. Learn more about what to expect for the upcoming year and how it might impact our country’s current hiring shortage.

When exactly do the new minimum wage rises take effect?

The first minimum wage increase went live in New York state on December 31, but most took effect on the first of the new year. Be prepared for changes throughout 2022 though: Hourly minimum pay for all federal contract workers – including disabled workers – will hit $15 on January 30, thanks to an executive order from President Biden last April. Then starting in July, minimum wage raises will take effect in Connecticut (up $1 to $14) and Nevada and Oregon (up 75 cents to $9.50 and $13.50, respectively). And Floridian workers will see a $1 increase to $11 on September 30.

Where are the most significant raises?

Virginia saw the largest 2022 increase, with minimum wages up $1.50 to $11 per hour. California, a leader on workers’ rights, also tops the wages table, with a state-wide minimum of $15 per hour. (For employers with 25 employees or fewer, it’s $14 per hour.) Parts of New York state, including NYC, also implemented a $15 minimum wage (the state-wide minimum is $13.20; fast-food workers made at least $15 per hour since July last year, state-wide).

For the record, several cities have gone past the $15 mark already. Seattle has the highest city minimum wage ($17.27) for most employers ($17.53 in SeaTac, home to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport). It’s $15.87 in Denver, $15.55 in Flagstaff, Arizona, and $16.40 in Apple’s hometown of Cupertino, California. Washington DC’s minimum hourly rates will hit $16.10 this July.

What about tipped workers and other exemptions?

Exceptions to the federal minimum wage apply for workers with disabilities, workers under age 20, tipped workers, and student-learners. However, several states and municipalities are upping minimum wages for groups covered by federal exemptions.

At the same time, the federal government is eliminating the sub-minimum wage for tipped employees of federal contractors by 2024. In addition, as of January 30, the federal government is extending the $15 minimum wage to federal contract workers with disabilities. (Tens of thousands of disabled workers in the US earn below the minimum wage, with some paid as little as $3.34 per hour.)

Employers will have to navigate complexity to stay compliant with different hourly minimums for different workers, employer types, and locations.

We stay ahead.

Over a million workers in America still earn the federal minimum wage or less, yet inflation is at its highest level in nearly 40 years. And although many employers hiked pay to combat labor shortages (Target and Amazon have a $15-per-hour minimum rate; Walmart has $12), inflation-adjusted average hourly earnings still fell by 1.9% in November 2021.

In today’s market, it’s more important than ever to be smart about offering competitive wages. In our work with employers across the country, we consistently find that those with the most success in attracting and retaining talent are those who own the market in wage rates. Working with Adecco means working with experts experienced in navigating local markets. You also get access to invaluable resources like our cost of turnover calculator and optimized pay rate calculator.

Learn how Adecco helped a leading fashion brand optimize pay for 100% fill rates, a 44% rise in applications, and a 52% boost in the interview-to-hire ratio. And find out how we can help you improve retention, reduce absenteeism, enhance productivity, and boost workers’ health, morale, and effort.

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The Great Resignation. COVID-19. A work-from-home revolution. The hiring process has undergone serious changes over the past year. And these changes are going to carry over into the new year.

With a record number of job openings, you’ll need to be on top of this year’s talent acquisition trends to attract (and keep) the best workers. Here’s what to look out for in 2022:

Job hunts are starting…right now

New year, new job? Expect an influx of applications at the start of the year. According to a Harris Poll study, 59% of employed Americans who plan on quitting their job will be looking for work between now and February. And with the “Great Resignation” reporting record quit rates for Americans in 2021, get ready for a record number of candidates as well. It’s expected that there will be 7 million more employed Americans in 2022 than in 2021. 

With the total number of potential applicants growing, so is the number of diverse candidates. Take this opportunity to improve inclusion at your company. Candidates from different backgrounds, such as those who are neurodiverse and veterans entering the workforce, possess different skillsets than traditional job seekers and can give your company a competitive advantage.

The Great Resignation will continue

One of the biggest hiring trends from 2021, the “Big Quit” as some experts call it will continue into 2022. In fact, it’s only picking up speed. A record 34.5 million Americans quit their jobs in 2021, with most resignations happening at the end of the year. It’s more important to invest in recruitment now more than ever: experts predict that almost a quarter of the American workforce plans to resign in the next 12 months.

Younger employees are twice as likely to resign from their jobs in 2022. From creating developmental plans to supporting mental health, learn how you can support younger workers during the pandemic to keep your team intact.

COVID-19 is sticking around

With new variants springing up every year, the pandemic is shaping many current hiring trends. Make employee safety your top priority and check out our webinar on how to navigate vaccine mandates while we wait for the final say from the government on how businesses need to proceed. 

While COVID is disrupting the workplace, keep in mind that it’s also impacting schooling. With more school districts shutting down over staff shortages and increasing infections, offer your workers more flexibility. Learning how to retain parents can help you keep your best employees as two out of every five parents have changed jobs due to the pandemic.

Be ready to hire

With tight competition for the best talent, you want to be ahead of the hiring trends for 2022, not behind. That means you’ll need to be ready to act when you find the best talent. Proactive recruiting is one of the biggest recruitment trends, meaning you’ll have to rely on social platforms, events, and hiring a recruiter to find the most qualified candidates.  

While finding applicants is important, getting them interested in your open positions is crucial. Since the start of the pandemic, workers are prioritizing flexibility more and more. Our research shows that 41% of workers are currently moving, or are considering moving, to a job with more flexible working options like working remotely, choosing their own hours, and forgoing the typical 40-hour workweek. Make sure to highlight the flexible options you provide (or start providing them) to not lose quality applicants.

What’s Adecco doing?

We’re here to help you stay ahead of the hiring trends for 2022. As the holidays are ending, we’re catching qualified workers as they leave their peak season job, expanding our talent database in time for you to fill your open positions. Whether you’re looking for temporary workers or direct hires we’ll help you find the right fit.

How? As the job market evolves, so do we. From grassroots blitzes to partnering with different job boards, we’re working to expand our reach bringing you the best candidates. By leveraging different technologies like our Pay on Demand service, we’re attracting more applicants who are ready to work for you.

It’s also our job to stay up to date on the latest market data and learn what workers are looking for in employment. Check out our monthly jobs report for a breakdown of the hiring practices for your industry/location and our pay rate calculator to make sure you’re offering a competitive salary to be ahead of other businesses.

Ready to be ahead of the current hiring trends? Contact us today to help you find the best talent and make 2022 your best year yet. 

Our services don’t end at finding the right people. At Adecco, we encourage the training of candidates after placement through our Aspire Academy to ensure a perfect fit and encourage employee retention. Check it out and head to our blog for more resources on how to support your workers in 2022 and beyond.

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Camaraderie. Resilience. Discipline. Critical thinking. Veterans come with a wealth of sought-after transferable skills. Masters of navigating uncertainty, veterans often perform at higher levels and have lower turnover rates than their civilian counterparts. Many spend years managing large numbers of people and expensive equipment. And their sense of responsibility means they are often the first on the job and the last to leave.

So, why do so many veterans face unemployment and underemployment after they hang up the uniform? Below, we explain what stops veterans – and their spouses – from getting the job offer, and what employers can do about it.

Recruiters don’t speak military

Often, recruiters won’t recognize military job titles, ranks, and acronyms, never mind military credentials. They might have low expectations of veterans’ skills and fear that they won’t be a good fit for their workplace. Consequently, they’re more likely to reject veteran candidates or push them into specific fields, like security or trucking, for example. Indeed, 38 of the top 50 industries employ them at a lower rate than nonveterans.

AI weeds out qualified veteran candidates

Most military jobs have a civilian equivalent, but veterans don’t screen like civilians because their job titles are different. AI-based applicant tracking software can put candidates in the reject pile if they lack industry keywords or have gaps in employment history. This disadvantages veterans and exacerbates the talent crunch by rejecting millions of candidates straight off the bat.

Job requirements exclude veteran experience

Job descriptions can deter many veterans before they even get to the application stage. Civilian terms for certain skills don’t always align with how veterans see their skills sets, leading them to rule out roles they are very qualified for. Moreover, postings often demand specialized hard skills that veterans will struggle to attain during their military careers.

Veterans aren’t linked in with civilians

Who you know matters. Veterans often haven’t had the opportunity to build a strong professional network, which can become a problem as they transition to the civilian workforce. (Plus, civilian workers usually lack strong connections with the veteran community.) Unsurprisingly, this leads many veterans to underplay or exclude their military service from job applications.

Military spouses suffer, too

Most military spouses are well qualified for any number of careers, and want or need to work. Yet, the unemployment rate among this group is 24 percent. At the same time, wages are 25% lower than among the civilian population, mainly due to frequent relocations, childcare issues, and an inability to transfer occupational licenses from state to state.

What employers can do

Empowering veterans in the workplace isn’t charity. If you’re not hiring veterans, you’re missing out on a uniquely qualified talent pool of skilled leaders, technicians, and innovators. Here’s what you can do:

Use data as your strategic asset
Dig deep into your hiring data to pinpoint where veterans are dropping out of your recruitment funnel. Regularly review your employee data to establish which roles veterans tend to fill at your company. Delve into departments, seniority levels, and contract types. Ask yourself whether unseen barriers might be causing veterans to languish in roles below their experience level or to drop out altogether.

Level-up internal awareness
Don’t make veterans do all the heavy-lifting in translating their skills. Invest in training to elevate hiring managers’ understanding of the roadblocks and eliminate any preconceived opinions. Train recruiters in when it might be appropriate to waive industry experience requirements. And consider including veterans for ‘top of the funnel’ candidate engagement through recruitment and onboarding, and in promoting internal knowledge transfer.

Institute a dedicated veteran hiring track
Veterans themselves tend to believe that civilian hiring managers will devalue their military experience, and with good reason. Counter that by setting up veterans-only recruitment processes, careers sites, and internal referral programs that cater to their unique needs. Encourage veteran candidates to speak with existing veteran employees. And recraft job descriptions to focus on relevant skills rather than specific degrees or years of industry experience.

And take care of military spouses
Lack of childcare, frequent moves, and the demands of supporting a partner in the military make finding appropriate work intensely difficult for this group. Let them work flexibly, and from home, where possible. And be vocal in your support for military families so military spouses feel seen, included, and welcome at your company.

Considering the escalating stress and financial pressure wrought by the pandemic, we need to do more than thank our veterans this Veteran’s Day. Companies must support them in meaningful ways year-round.

Adecco can help. Our Military Alliance program has been working to address the high unemployment rate for vets and their spouses. To help open doors, we provide job placement, career counseling, resume enhancement, interview training, and much more.

And we partner with groups like the Military Spouse Employment Partnership to help entire military families find jobs they love. Learn more about how Adecco supports veterans and their families.

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We’ve heard a lot about the labor crunch in recent months. But there’s another trend developing among America’s workforce. It’s called ghosting coasting, and it’s happening right now. Find out what it is, why people are doing it, and how employers can buck the trend.

What’s ghosting coasting?

There are over a million more positions open in America right now than workers looking to fill them. Increasingly, new hires are working for a few weeks and moving on to catch a better-paid job or the next sign-on incentive. That’s ‘ghosting coasting.’ The trend is especially prevalent in the service industry, but this year, it’s becoming a big problem in manufacturing and other sectors.

Why are people doing it?

Economists have pointed to ‘disincentives’ like expanded unemployment benefits. But there are deeper reasons. In the last 18 months, workers have turned themselves inside out looking after their careers and children at home. They often bore the brunt of the pandemic’s economic burden. Burnout is another factor: Workers are frustrated with what they consider low wages, poor benefits, and difficult working hours. In addition, store and restaurant workers face regular COVID-19 exposure and are often tasked with acting as mask-mandate enforcers.

What can employers do about it?

Avoiding ghosting coasting means getting creative (and honest) about how to recruit, reward, retain, and nurture talent. Here’s what you can do:

Level-up your value proposition

What can you offer your workers beyond paychecks? Reward the value they create by helping them thrive in life and their careers. You can offer valuable training and upskilling opportunities (for free via our Aspire Academy), so they’re working for you and for their future.

Beware bad hires

Backed into a corner, employers are hiring at warp speed. But don’t compromise the integrity of your hiring process. It’s still important to verify and prescreen each candidate, but you can also make sure that outdated internal policies don’t arbitrarily exclude well-qualified candidates, like those who have nontraditional work history or those with a criminal background.

Look after loyal workers

If you need to operate with a skeletal crew, adjust your operating hours accordingly. If you’re not already drafting temporary workers, start now. If you can afford it, consider closing for a day for some much-needed rest and to protect workers from burnout. Even, developing an organizational purpose can help your employees feel valued and motivated.

Shake up incentives

Attendance bonuses. Free food. Longer breaks. Employers need a toolbox of benefits to stay ahead of the curve in the war for talent. Go beyond gimmicks. As the pandemic continues, workers gravitate to employers genuinely invested in their well-being. You can add meaningful benefits and perks, like flexible shifts, daycare stipends, or transportation to and from work.

Get wages right

Our data shows that people are 60% more likely to return to work if the pay rate falls above the 75th percentile. Determining the right wages can be tricky without real-time market data and decades of experience in staffing. That’s why tools like our salary calculator can help you set the proper pay for the workers you need.

Our working world has changed. At Adecco, we can help you develop a tailor-made plan that makes sense for your budget and can be scaled up or down at any point.

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Getting formerly incarcerated individuals back into the workforce is one of the few issues with bipartisan support in our country. Pathways to meaningful work give returning citizens a chance to rebuild their lives, provide for their families, and break the cycle of recidivism. Yet, longstanding stigma means these job seekers face many hurdles to finding employment, even at a time when the US economy has a record 10 million job vacancies. And with 70 million Americans having criminal records (around the same number that holds college degrees) this exclusion is exacerbating our labor crisis and hindering our economic recovery.

The research is clear: employers say that workers with criminal records perform just as well as – or better – than other employees. Many businesses are keen to work with ‘justice-involved’ individuals but don’t know where to start (A recent American Staffing Association webinar examined the issue closely).

At Adecco, we believe there’s a job for everyone. We mine untapped talent pools to match talented people with well-paid, purposeful jobs. Below, learn three steps you can take on your way to becoming a second-chance employer:

Assess applicants on skills

Start by normalizing hiring people with records. Blanket ‘no felons’ policies mean lifelong discrimination against people with prior convictions and lock out great talent. Ask yourself: “Will this particular record impact this candidate’s ability to do this role?” “Are we putting up unnecessary barriers?” Of course, some background checks are vital, from healthcare to early education, to pharmaceuticals, and almost 90% of employers conduct them. But excluding a qualified candidate from, say, a hard-to-fill auto parts assembly vacancy because of a decades-old teenage drug offense can run counter to your business interests. Working with a Adecco can expedite recruitment, screening, and verification and enhance your fill rates, speed-to-hire, and even retention numbers.

Give a hand up

These job seekers face complex problems that make it harder to land work, but employers can make a huge difference. Consider setting up an employee transportation program. Invest in making sure your candidates have the right-sized work clothes ready for their first day. Develop relationships with parole officers, community partnership organizations, and other re-entry agencies. (Many of these groups help candidates with common problems like missing ID papers, unstable housing issues, and set-up funds.) These efforts aren’t necessarily costly, and many government and local grants exist to help employers and candidates with the cost of getting back to work. Check out the Labor Department’s grants page to find vetted community partners, or talk to us for advice tailored to your industry. And with the Adecco Aspire Academy, free upskilling and reskilling qualifications set second-chance hires up for long-term employment success.

Start small

For many business leaders, upending decades-old ‘no felons’ policies can feel fraught with risk, a leap into the unknown. Why not start small and get hands-on experience working with just one or two candidates? Addressing stigmas around second-chance hiring can lead to more positive and inclusive workplaces and enhance your purpose as an organization. More than 650,000 ex-offenders are released from American prisons every year, half your labor force might come from the justice-involved community before you know it; or from overlapping populations like our veterans and the homeless. Don’t underestimate how powerful it can be to give one overlooked person a break. And with peak hiring season just around the corner – and several industries facing wage inflation and unprecedented hiring and retention challenges – what better time to start than now?

In recent years, many of our clients have evolved their hiring practices to include individuals with criminal histories, while addressing their toughest staffing challenges. So, what’s stopping you?

Learn more about how we help American businesses navigate today’s tricky labor environment, especially during peak season. And for more insights on the complex, unfolding issues shaping our working world take a look at our freshly launched research Resetting Normal: Defining The New Era Of Work.

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