Why Some People Still Can't Find Work in a Strong Job Market
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Here's your Money Briefing for Wednesday, May 8th. I'm J.R. Whelan for The Wall Street Journal. Unemployment remains near a 50-year low, and about 8 million positions remain unfilled. Yet many people say they've hit a wall when trying to land a job.
They tell me they're getting ghosted by hiring managers who suddenly feel like they have the pick of the litter. Some also gripe about seeing the same job listings reappear over and over on a company's job board. And they wonder, are you actually filling this position or are you just sort of putting it out there and fishing for candidates or stockpiling resumes for later?
We'll talk to columnist Callum Borscherts after the break.
This episode is brought to you by Charles Schwab.
How has the balance of power between workers and employers shifted since the pandemic?
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Many workers are having trouble landing positions despite the constant drumbeat of rosy job market figures. Wall Street Journal On The Clock columnist Callum Borges joins me. Callum, toward the end of the pandemic, we saw workers firmly holding the balance of power as some companies scrambled to hire.
Where does that balance sit now? Well, you'd have to say the pendulum has swung back toward the bosses, maybe not all the way to their full control, but certainly more toward a middle ground that we would have seen before the pandemic. And I hear it all the time from job seekers or even people who aren't actively looking. But they tell me I used to get inbound requests from recruiters. It felt like I could snap my fingers a couple of years ago and get another offer.
What does the employer-to-employer transition probability reveal about job mobility?
And they just don't feel that way anymore. It's a little bit hard to measure, but you do see this in something called the employer to employer transition probability. It's a very nerdy term, but the Philadelphia Fed keeps track of that. It's basically how many workers jump from one job to another. It's kind of a proxy for your opportunity to find something better. And only one out of 50 American workers did this last month. And that's down from, say, like one in 37 would have been typical during the economic recovery from the pandemic. So it's a meaningful decline.
The unemployment rate continues to hover near a 50-year low, and employers keep filling positions, so there's clearly a need to find talent. So why are many workers having trouble landing jobs?
The thing I hear from workers, it's how the process has changed. They tell me they're getting ghosted by hiring managers who suddenly feel like they have the pick of the litter. Or they complain that companies are drawing out the interview process. They go through three, four, five rounds of interviews. They get assigned projects and presentations to do. It takes forever. Some also gripe about seeing the same job listings reappear over and over on a company's job board. And they wonder, are you actually filling this position or are you just sort of putting it out there and fishing for candidates or stockpiling resumes for later?
Which groups of workers are having the most trouble getting hired?
Well, it really depends on the industry that you're in.
Why are workers reporting being 'ghosted' or facing drawn-out hiring processes?
Jobs in tech, finance, law, accounting, those were essentially flat or slightly down in the most recent jobs report. The other thing I hear, too, it's sort of where you fall on the corporate ladder, right? Companies always have need for senior leadership. And they love those relatively inexpensive younger workers. It's some of the folks in the middle who I hear from the most saying, I'm having a really hard time finding a job. Now, I'm 15, 20 years into my career. I'm not C-suite level, but I'm not inexpensive anymore. I'm kind of an investment for a company and I'm having a harder time getting a job.
But still, employees are adding all these jobs to the economy, but there are millions of open positions. Are companies becoming too picky?
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:01–1:23
2
How has the balance of power between workers and employers shifted since the pandemic?
1:23–2:23
3
What does the employer-to-employer transition probability reveal about job mobility?
2:23–3:41
4
Why are workers reporting being 'ghosted' or facing drawn-out hiring processes?
3:41–4:36
5
Which industries and career levels are having the most trouble finding jobs?
4:36–5:34
6
Are companies being too picky and slowing hires despite millions of open positions?
5:34–6:46
7
What hiring practices cause candidates to be rejected or jobs to be reposted at lower pay?
6:46–8:04
8
How is the current job market affecting job seekers' morale and job search behavior?
8:04–8:46
Speakers
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