Recruitment in 2024: Employees still hold power in the labor market

After a few years of the Great Resignation, the past year took a seemingly sharp turn as layoffs dominated the news and hiring slowed across large companies — but not all hope is lost for job seekers in 2024. 

Background screening platform Checkr surveyed 1,000 executives, finding that 72% of business leaders felt they faced significant hiring challenges in 2023. That sentiment extends to 2024, with only 34% of employers confident they will meet their hiring goals next year. These findings sharply contrast with the idea that companies have over-hired, leading to hiring freezes and layoffs within the tech industry in particular: According to data collected by Layoffs.fyi, 240,000 employees have lost their jobs within tech alone this year. But one industry doesn't speak for all, underlines Sara Korolevich, head of digital content at Checkr.

"There's still a lot of industries that are struggling with hiring, and there's still more jobs than there are unemployed people," she says. "So even if everybody took a job, there'd still be open jobs. Our survey shows that organizations are continuing to struggle with this."

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In fact, while the unemployment rate dropped slightly to 3.7% in November, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the labor force participation rate — the percentage of the population that is working or looking for work — has still not quite returned to pre-pandemic levels.

A tight labor market isn't the only problem. According to Checkr, 65% of executives said finding talent on a limited budget was the most stressful part of the hiring process, hinting at some companies' inability to attract talent with competitive enough compensation and benefits. Korolevich points out that this means job seekers are still being selective to some degree, too.

"Workers are in search of improved work-life balance, flexibility and better compensation," she says. "Companies are really having to think about what they need to offer in order to attract talent." 

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Business leaders agreed that the number one way to attract qualified talent is to offer remote, flexible work arrangements,  underlining that the war between in-person and remote work still doesn't have a clear victor.

Despite executives worried about hiring in 2024, only 19% predict hiring challenges will worsen next year, while 33% expect the challenges will remain the same and 45% believe there will be improvement. Korolevich notes that since the U.S. economy doesn't seem to be in the clutches of a recession at the end of 2023, employers may feel less pressure to tighten their budgets further as they head into the new year. 

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Ultimately, job seekers will still have leverage against employers in 2024, even if 2023 proved to be challenging compared to the hiring frenzy of the Great Resignation. As for employers, Korolevich advises them to reflect on whether their job postings are clear about what will be expected of new talent for the job and what the company is offering in return. This includes flexible work arrangements, benefits, bonuses and a narrow salary range. If employers want to attract and retain new talent, no one should be caught off guard. 

"We all want to know what's expected of us — that's key," says Korolevich. "The point in hiring is that transparency, so the employee is aware of what they're getting into when they start working for a company."