The latest U.S. jobs report confirms employers are dramatically slowing down their hiring, with only 22,000 jobs added in August.
Economists expected 80,000 jobs to be added last month.
At Twin Cities R!se in Minneapolis, Vice President of Program Operations Alex Merritt is seeing the slowdown.
“As we’re preparing people for meaningful employment, we are also seeing where employers are taking a little longer to fill a position or what we’re calling ghost positions,” she said. “We’re seeing it across the board that people have positions up that might not be filled in the shortest timeframe.”
Meritt said it’s affecting all industries.
Meanwhile, the organization has a waiting list of about 100 people who are seeking the leadership, empowerment and job search and career planning services they offer.
“A lot of people who are looking for work, who are looking for additional skills and development,” she said.
The Department of Labor report shows while there were gains in the health care industry, that was partially offset by losses in federal government and in mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction. The wholesale trade and manufacturing sectors also saw dips.
“I wasn’t surprised,” said Paul DeBettignies, the founder of Launch Hiring. “Most CEOs, most leadership teams are still in that ‘We’re going to wait and see’ mode, which means not a lot is happening.”
Locally, he said job seekers are facing more competition and may not always hear back after applying for a position.
“The first people to be let go, or hiring stops for those roles, are recruiter and HR folks,” he said. “So you now have companies with smaller talent acquisition teams than they had a few years ago; they probably see a 2x to 3x the amount of inquiries coming in about jobs, so that’s a part of why there’s this friction.”
DeBettignies explained it will take more certainty in the economy, from interest rates to tariffs, before the trend turns around.
He suggests those who are applying for jobs reach out to an employee or hiring manager directly.
“I’m going to reach out to a human in a company,” he said. “I’m going to apply for a job whether I see it on Indeed or LinkedIn, and I’m actually going to apply on the company career page, not any of the tools, because the odds of that job being current is going to be much higher.”
DeBettignies also recommends researching prospective employers to get information about the leadership team, whether it’s publicly traded, and the company’s sales, revenue and forecasting.
For employers, he suggests being transparent about the timeline for filling jobs posted.
Merritt shared her own advice.
“Be careful about the willingness or desire to just pull back completely on this, especially those employers that have a graying workforce, because when you need a pipeline is now,” said Merritt.
Source – https://kstp.com/kstp-news/top-news/employment-experts-share-tips-for-navigating-tough-job-market/