Hiring the right candidate for a specific role in a company is crucial. Studies have shown that hiring an applicant who fits the job can cost a company a lot of money. That’s why it’s essential for recruiters and hiring managers to have good judgment when selecting new hires. 

One way recruiters and hiring managers can assess if their strategies are in line with today’s trends is by keeping up to speed with the latest hiring statistics.

Here are some facts and numbers recruiters and hiring managers can benefit from and use as a reference when making decisions. 

Interesting Facts and Stats About Hiring (Editor’s Choice)

  •       Millennials who job hop cost the US economy approximately $30.5 billion per year.
  •       It only takes recruiters 7.4 seconds to evaluate a candidate.
  •       Only 2% of applicants get to be interviewed.
  •       92% of employers say soft skills play an important role in hiring applicants.
  •       Google hires only 0.2% of applicants.
  •       77% of recruiters rely on LinkedIn.
  •       30% of surveyed workers left their jobs because of a fixed work schedule.
  •       The hiring rate of artificial intelligence specialists grew by 74%.

Some Interesting Hiring Stats

1. Approximately 57 million US workers are in the gig economy.

Technological progress in the last decade has allowed individuals to work from just about anywhere as long as there’s a stable internet connection. This convenience of working remotely is the reason why more US workers are joining the gig economy. As many as 57 million workers or 36% of the US workforce are gig workers. 

2. Millennials who job hop cost the US economy approximately $30.5 billion per year.

Millennials are now being labeled as uncommitted to their employers. According to recruiting statistics, approximately 21% of the generation has moved from one company to another within any given year, which is thrice more than any other generation. As a result, they cost the US economy approximately $30.5 billion annually. 

3. 79% of workers will reject a job offer from a company that failed to address sexual harassment.

According to a survey that involved 540 workers, 79% said they would refuse a job with a higher salary from a company that didn’t react to sexual harassment at work. Employees don’t take sexual harassment lightly and want to feel safe in the workplace. 

4. 76% of older employees think that age discrimination is an obstacle to finding a job. 

There might be grounds for this assumption as age discrimination is still prevalent in American society. Moreover, hiring bias statistics show that more than 50% of older workers were booted out due to their age.

5. Salary is a top factor for 67% of people who are going through job postings. 

Posting job offers isn’t just about listing requirements for a particular job. These job ads also serve as a recruitment marketing strategy for a company. It’s essential that job seekers know how much they’ll make. According to a survey that involved 1,100 American adults, 67% considered a job posting that had information about salary. 

6. Only 12% of younger workers leave their jobs because of money.

According to hiring stats, 89% of employers think that younger employees quit their jobs because of money. The truth is that only 12% of them leave because of it. Instead, they want to empower others and lead by example. 

7. It only takes recruiters 7.4 seconds to evaluate a candidate.

Surveys show that recruiters only need 7.4 seconds to assess a candidate’s resume. They first look at the current and previous job titles and dates associated with them and then move on to education requirements. 

8. Only 2% of applicants get to be interviewed.

According to employers, the job application success rate for candidates is low. Only 2% of those who apply for a job reach the interview stage. Furthermore, 75% of applicants are usually unqualified for the role. This proves that sending out applications left and right in hopes of getting hired is not a smart move. 

9. 52% of recruiters think that the most challenging part of their job is screening applicants.

A single job posting is estimated to receive as many as 250 applications. Of that number, 75% to 88% are considered unfit for the position. This makes screening applicants for a single position time-consuming. It’s approximated that they spend as much as 23 hours in the screening process. For this reason, 52% of talent acquisition leaders consider screening the most challenging part of recruitment.

10. 92% of employers say soft skills play an important role in hiring applicants.

Soft skills are becoming more and more important in the eyes of employers. According to hiring statistics, as much as 92% of employers think that soft skills will be one of the determining factors in the hiring process. Three of the top soft skills employers look for are interpersonal skills, communication skills, and critical thinking. 

11. 39% of women say a company’s reputation is essential to the decision to change jobs.

When a career change is on the horizon, brand reputation plays a vital role for more women than men. According to job application statistics, 39% of women who consider applying for a job believe that company reputation is important, while 33% of men feel the same way. 

12. 70% of applicants read reviews on companies before making a career move.

Today, it seems that candidates are treating job hunting like online shopping. According to a survey, 70% of applicants read employees’ reviews on an employer before making a career decision. On average, these applicants read six reviews before forming an opinion about a company. 

13. According to recruiters, the average number of interviews before getting a job is two to three. 

After a company starts the hiring process, it usually invites six to ten applicants for an initial interview. Most of the time, the interview is done by phone. After the initial interview, employers invite candidates they deem qualified for an in-person interview. Those who do well are then invited for the final interview.

14. A successful job hunt lasts around five months. 

It’s impossible to know the average number of applications a candidate should send before getting a job. This can be frustrating for applicants, especially since 59% of college graduates expect to be hired within one to two months. However, according to a survey, it takes US workers five months to find a job. 

15. Google hires only 0.2% of applicants.

As Google hiring statistics reveal, only 0.2% of applicants get to work for the company. Since Google is a dream company for many, it receives a staggering three million job applications per year. One thing is clear—the competition is fierce. 

16. 94% of candidates prefer getting feedback after their interviews. 

As LinkedIn hiring statistics show, 94% of applicants want to receive feedback even if they get rejected. When an employer doesn’t get back to applicants, it makes them feel unwanted. When this happens, there’s a high probability that they won’t apply again. What’s more, they might discourage their friends from applying as well.

17. According to social media recruitment statistics, 70% of employers have used social media to screen candidates.

Job seekers need to revamp not just their resumes but their social media profiles as well. A survey has shown that as much as 70% of employers have used social media to screen their applicants. This means that job seekers’ posts on social media could potentially cost them their job. 

18. 96% of recruiters think identifying key hiring sources is essential.

A hiring source is a metric that recruiters use to answer the question of where the company’s hires come from. It gives the percentage of hires from each source, such as referrals, job postings, and direct sources. When recruiters identify a source of hire, they effectively allocate resources to appropriate hiring channels.

19. 77% of recruiters rely on LinkedIn.

Many job seekers look for jobs online, which isn’t enough most of the time. According to job search stats, 60% of jobs are found through networking. LinkedIn is very popular among recruiters, with 77% reaching out to candidates through this platform.

20. 60% of applicants gave up on an application process because it was too long. 

The competition for top-tier talent is so tight that the best candidates are usually hired already. The recruitment process then becomes a candidate-driven market. This makes some statistics about recruiting and hiring all the more helpful for recruiters and employers because they enable them to understand candidates’ behavior and talent trends. 

For instance, according to recruitment data, 60% of candidates withdraw their application if the hiring process takes too long to complete. Armed with this knowledge, recruiters can adjust their methods and shorten the hiring process to secure skilled candidates.

21. Racially diverse teams perform 35% better than non-diverse teams.

The potentially negative effect of cultural differences on productivity is one reason why hiring managers hesitate to have diversity in their company. The diversity might cause conflict and bickering. As proven by diversity hiring statistics, these fears are unfounded because racially diverse teams perform 35% better than non-diverse ones. 

22. The average hiring process length in the US is 23 days.

On average, it takes 23 days to hire new employees in the US. However, the number of days may depend on the industry. For instance, government job positions take around 53.8 days to be filled, while jobs in restaurants and bars only take 10.2 days. It takes a long time for employers to hire a candidate because they want to make the right choice. A wrong hire could cost an employer as much as 30% of an employee’s annual income. 

Hiring Statistics 2019

23. The unemployment rate in the US was 3.5% in 2019.

The US economy has had steady growth since the Great Recession between 2007 and 2009. According to the Current Population Survey in 2019, 158.6 million were employed by the end of the year, leaving 5.8 million people unemployed. The numbers translate to a 3.5% unemployment rate, the lowest rate the country has seen since 1969.

24. The employment to population ratio was 61% in 2019.

According to hiring statistics, in the fourth quarter of 2019, the US’s employment to population ratio reached 61%. This is 0.4% higher than the employment to population ratio in the third quarter of 2018. Although this ratio is high, it’s still below the ratio recorded in the years before the Great Recession. 

25. 45% of job seekers think it was more challenging looking for a job in 2019 than in 2018.

Despite the rising number of job openings in the US in 2019, 45% of surveyed job seekers think it was more challenging looking for a job in 2019 than in 2018. Surveys and headlines might say that candidates are more poised to negotiate salaries and benefits, but that’s not the case for all job seekers.

26.  The median salary for MBA talent in 2019 increased to $115,000.

Job hiring statistics show that MBA graduates tend to earn more than their peers. They also have higher starting salaries than other new hires. In 2019, more companies offered MBA talents a median annual salary of $115,000. That’s twice as much as the starting salary offered to bachelor’s degree holders.

27. 30% of surveyed workers left their jobs because of a fixed work schedule.

A 2019 survey conducted among US workers found that 30% left their jobs because their companies didn’t offer flexible work schedules. Workers place so much value on flexibility that they’re willing to trade higher positions and better job titles for an opportunity to work flexible hours. 

28. 19% of workers turned down a job after signing an initial offer.

Around 19% of workers turned down a job after signing an initial offer from the employer and before their first day at work. More than 50% said they received a better offer from a different company.

Hiring Statistics 2022

When the pandemic hit the US, employers and recruiters scrambled to change the recruitment process. Some of these changes are temporary, while others might persist in years to come. One of those changes that are likely to stay is doing interviews via video call. One-fifth of recruiters believe that the reduced risk, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of this interviewing method are reasons enough for it to remain valid in the future. 

30. The hiring rate for artificial intelligence specialists grew by 74%.

One of the current job trends in the US today is the job of an artificial intelligence specialist. It took the top spot for emerging jobs in the US for 2020, with a hiring growth of 74%. With the astounding developments and innovation in the last decade, this statistic doesn’t come as a surprise. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are practically equated to innovation.

Conclusion

From the statistics discussed above, we can see that there’s so much more about recruitment that we don’t know.

Hiring managers and recruiters are always on the lookout for top-tier talents. But screening a bunch of candidates to filter out unqualified ones can take a lot of time. That’s why many recruiters have said that screening applicants is the most challenging part of their job.

Getting acquainted with some recruitment statistics allows hiring managers to gain useful insight into some trends. For instance, the data available from previous years provide information about some candidates’ behavior and responses to job search, job postings, and hiring processes. This allows recruiters to make ample adjustments to current strategies to attract the best talents in the industry.