It's a Job Seeker's Market, Even in the Pandemic
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How has the pandemic changed the overall job market and unemployment trends?
Here's your money briefing for Friday, September 11th. I'm J.R. Whalen for The Wall Street Journal. The unemployment rate has come down from its recent record high, but millions of Americans are still looking for work. You might think that means this is no longer a job seeker's market. Well, think again.
The positions in which they're recruiting for are mission critical. If you're in an economic downturn and your company's really been hit hard and not one of the industries that is growing during this pandemic, if you're hiring, that means that you need this person.
Paul McDonald of the Robert Half Staffing Agency will discuss the latest trends in hiring, pay, and benefits during the pandemic. That's after the break.
Before the pandemic, back when the unemployment rate was at a 50-year low, employers were paying high salaries to keep workers from being lured away by competitors. Fast forward to now, when millions are out of work and vying to be the next new hire, and surprisingly, many workers are finding they still have the upper hand. Let's bring in Paul McDonald, senior executive director of the Robert Half Staffing firm, to explain. You know, Paul, given the way the labor market has been decimated by the pandemic, the last thing I thought I would be talking to you about is employee leverage.
It's very interesting.
Why are some new hires still commanding pre-pandemic or higher salaries?
We're on the eve of launching all of our research as it relates to the salary guides for 2021. And part of that research and questionnaire was, how likely are you as a senior manager to negotiate pay with new hires. And we were quite surprised that about 72% of the companies said they were willing and looking forward to negotiating for pay. It kind of flies in the face of what's going on with the pandemic, but I think it also, when you peel back the covers a bit, you look at hard to find people are still in demand. And many of the people that we're representing and many of the senior managers we're talking to are CFOs, CIOs, C-suite executives. And they've been looking pre-pandemic for, for instance, a cybersecurity expert or a data scientist or a data analyst.
Those people are still in high demand. And I believe what it's telling us is that while, yes, it's been a real tough go with furloughs, layoffs, and salary freezes, those high demand positions still are garnering compensation increases, number one. But number two, I think maybe first offer might be lower than it was before. And now, because of the pandemic, and now we're starting to see a little bit of daylight. We're not out of the woods yet, but there is some demand issues that are still coming forward in the research.
Now, Robert Half conducted a survey of senior managers from early July to early August, and you found this is becoming a job market for new hires?
It was really interesting to see that 72% of the companies have maintained or upped pay for new hires since the pandemic.
Which roles remain mission-critical and continue to see pay increases?
And it kind of surprised me, but then I looked at it and said, okay, the positions in which they're recruiting for are mission critical. If you're in an economic downturn and your company's really been hit hard, and not one of the industries that is growing during this pandemic, if you're hiring, that means that you need this person. And that means that you're not the only person that needs this new hire. Therefore, maintaining the salaries or even upping the salaries in order to attract that talent is in place. And that's what the survey data says. Now, there's another thing here, too, that We're finding that the geographic boundaries have been dropped for many critical positions. Remote work is now work from home.
It used to be an optional, a nice to have benefit. It's now mandatory in most states. So as a result, if you needed a cybersecurity expert before and you were requiring that person to be licensed, geographically close to where your office is. Now that person could be in Nebraska, for instance, and you're in New York City, and that person is in high demand as a result. And they know that, so it's upping the salaries for that type of position.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
How has the pandemic changed the overall job market and unemployment trends?
0:05–1:22
2
Why are some new hires still commanding pre-pandemic or higher salaries?
1:22–3:15
3
Which roles remain mission-critical and continue to see pay increases?
3:15–4:24
4
How has remote work removed geographic boundaries for hiring and pay?
4:24–6:24
5
What retention risks do managers worry about for employees who stayed?
6:24–8:09
6
What non-monetary benefits and communication strategies help retain talent?
8:09–9:16
7
How should job seekers prepare to discuss salary early in virtual interviews?
9:16–10:32
Speakers
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