After a booming jobs growth spurt in June, hiring slowed, but still grew overall in July. The U.S. economy added 209,000 jobs last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. And with that growth, many employees are becoming just as selective as employers have been in choosing their next career path.
As the economy strengthens, market demand for workforce analytics will continue to grow as well, as business leaders increasingly recognize that the right talent is critical to bringing business strategies to life, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers new Human Capital Effectiveness report: Equally important is the ability to access and analyze the right information to support talent-related business decisions.
As the job market grows, voluntary turnover has continued to grow consistently across the 12 industry sectors examined by PwC, up from 8.4% in 2012 to 8.8% in 2013. Significantly, the separation rate among high performers rose by 19.5%, leaping from 5% in 2012 to 6% in 2013 hitting its highest level in a decade.
PwC points to two significant hiring trends that can be seen with the strengthening job market. The first: Companies are hiring more people. The percentage of employee headcount for new external hires has grown in the last three years, almost 40% from 2010 to 2013. A second trend is a jump for the second consecutive year in employee turnover within the first year of service, from 22.6% in 2012 to 24.1% in 2013, according to the report.
The firm believes that as the economy continues to strengthen, an emphasis on talent will return, and employers are going to continue to evolve the HR function amid a growing call for more strategic HR initiative.
Additionally, the consulting firm says as this shift continues, overall HR spending will continue to grow. In 2012, $1,923 was spent on hiring costs per employee, versus $1,995 per employee last year. Companies are demonstrating that an improved return on workforce investment requires an increased investment in HR, PwC notes.
Secretary of Labor Tom Perez says he is optimistic of the sustained progress and continued momentum in the job market sector, lauding President Barack Obamas recent signing last week of the Fair Pay and Safe Workplace Executive Order requiring companies competing for federal contracts to disclose labor law violations as yet another step in strengthening the labor market.
