Field: USA Work Market
- The U.S. Labor Market Is Less Tight Than It Appears | Harvard Business Review
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by another .75% last week, the latest in a series of rate hikes designed to tame inflation. The question looming over the economy now is whether the Fed has gone too far or not far enough. The answer depends on how much slack there is in the labor market. The Fed would like to see labor markets with enough slack that wage growth moderates to a level consistent with their 2% inflation target.
In our estimation, as it stands right now, the U.S. labor market is still running hot relative to the pre-pandemic baseline, with job openings and quits on LinkedIn still elevated and unemployment at its lowest levels. But monetary policy works with a substantial lag. It takes time for monetary tightening to reduce demand. Hence, it is no surprise that the recent Fed tightening hasn’t had much impact on inflation yet. In this highly uncertain environment, striking a balance between containing potential threats of inflation and avoiding a disorderly tightening of financial conditions will be critical.
Source: Harvard Business Review
- U.S. added 261,000 jobs in October, as labor market softens slightly | The Washington Post
Employers added 261,000 jobs in October, according to a new government report out Friday — down from 315,000 jobs added in September. The unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 3.7 percent, the Labor Department announced in its monthly jobs report. The rate was 3.5 percent in September. The job gains beat economists’ expectations of around 205,000.
Major U.S. stock indexes all closed up more than 1 percent on Friday after the news came out.
Monthly change in non-farm jobs
President Biden praised the report in a statement, saying it showed “our jobs recovery remains strong,” and called out Republicans for backing policies he said would fuel inflation: “As long as I’m president, I’m not going to accept an argument that the problem is that too many Americans are finding good jobs.”
Myriad tech companies recently unveiled plans to cut back. Amazon announced on Thursday a pause in corporate hiring amid uncertainty about the economy. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.) Lyft and Stripe, the processing payment platform, also just announced mass layoffs, as did Twitter, under new owner Elon Musk. But layoffs have remained low overall.
Source: The Washington Post
- It’s Getting Harder to Switch Jobs as Labor Market Shows Cracks | Bloomberg
More than a third of employed Americans are looking to change roles, according to the Harris Poll. Yet about 72% of job seekers say that companies are acting like they don’t want to hire anyone, since they’re ignoring applications and not scheduling interviews.
About two-thirds of those looking for a new job say they regret not starting the search sooner. A similar percentage think it would have been easier to change roles a year or two ago.
The process has been long and daunting for many. More than six in 10 say they’ve searched for a new job for over six months, and nearly half report applying to more than 50 positions.
Source: Bloomberg
4. Thousands at Meta, Twitter, Salesforce lost jobs this week—the shock could ripple through the economy for months | CNBC
Tens of thousands of tech workers have been laid off within days, as tech giants including Meta, Twitter, Salesforce and others shed headcount going into the final stretch of the year. At least 20,300 U.S. tech workers were let go from their jobs in November, and more than 100,000 since the beginning of the year, according to Layoffs.fyi, which tracks layoffs in the field.
Laid-off workers still have opportunities, just maybe not in the tech sector
Newly laid off workers will face more competition on the job market, which since 2021 has favored workers able to negotiate for big pay raises, better hours, flexible schedules and generally better jobs.
With that said, Pollak says, “many tech companies with strong profit margins are seeing their revenue grow or are holding steady, and are still continuing to hire. At companies struggling to find talent in the last year, talent acquisition teams are sitting at the ready to download the spreadsheets listing laid-off workers and start making calls.”
Source: CNBC
5. 36% of U.S. Workers Plan to Leave Their Job in 2023: Weekly Stat | CFO
Despite unpredictable markets and rising interest rates, executives have shown they are still mindful of devoting effort and money toward employee retention. Organizations giving employees flexible work environments and salary raises to keep them from jumping ship in a historically tight labor market have paid some dividends. But recent data from the Human Workplace Index Survey by Workhuman shows more than a third (36%) of U.S. employees plan on leaving their jobs within the next year.
“Approachability requires an emphasis on relationships, where the input and perspectives of all team members are deemed to be valuable,” — Scott Dussault, CFO of Workhuman
Those who are self-assessing in their review process said they are focusing on improving their professional contributions over their personal endeavors. Thirty-six percent of respondents reported they will put greater emphasis on contributions to company culture, while 31% say they will do the same for the business itself. Emphasizing work/life balance, mental health considerations, and changes in self-discipline all trailed behind.
“At the end of the day, employees want to feel like they’re part of the winning team, and in an ever-changing workplace, making their company a good place to work has become a major priority,” said Dussault. “Having a work/life balance and focusing on mental health are certainly two areas that require a strong focus; however, employees want to feel like they actively contribute to the larger good of the company.”
High Morale, Low Outlook
Among those surveyed who plan on staying at their jobs, the reasons gauged by Workhuman show corporate efforts to keep employees happy have paid dividends. Of the 64% of respondents who are choosing to stay at their jobs, more than a third of them (36%) are doing so because of a positive relationship with their company and co-workers. Slightly over a quarter (26%) of those said employee benefits were the main reason.
Source: CFO
Field: Remote Work Market
- Tech Job Market, Remote Work Stay Strong Amid Mixed Signals | Information Week
Technology company executives are preparing for a recession with layoffs at companies such as Microsoft and Facebook parent Meta and Twitter. And yet simultaneously, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics job report last week revealed that tech companies actually added 20,700 workers in October. An analysis from technology industry association CompTIA said that October marked the 23rd straight month of job growth in the Labor Statistics job report.
Plenty of business leaders, including tech company leaders, are talking about a return to office, at least on a hybrid basis. Maybe they want workers to come back three days a week and work from home for two. Recent Omdia research shows a minority of business leaders pushing for a full return to the office at pre-pandemic levels. But is that really on the horizon for the technology workplace after more than two years of remote work for many?
In spite of the talk of recession and whispers from some business leaders about using economic conditions to force a return to the office, the overall job market hasn’t gotten that message yet, the new job numbers show. Remote work shows no sign of slowing down, according to the CompTIA analysis. Job postings for tech positions that specify remote work or work from home continue to rise with a year-to-date rate of 34% compared to 27% in 2021 and 22% in 2020. Remote work seems here to stay, at least for the current moment.
What do these mixed trends portend for 2023? Will we see a stronger move for return to office? Will tech employment remain solid?
“The December jobs report will be telling in terms of how the next six months will look on the labor front,” Herbert concludes.
Source: Information Week
- Over 60% of Job Seekers Are Keen To Find Remote Opportunities | SpiceWorks
Most Job Seekers Prefer Remote Work
The study found that more than 60% of job seekers hope to find remote opportunities. Further, 20% wanted to work only remotely, and 40% preferred to work most of the time remotely. Job seekers’ preferences to work remotely remained quite stable throughout the year.
Many job seekers have become comfortable with remote work since they first experienced it during the beginning of the pandemic. About 13% of respondents in May said they were able to work for the same company but shifted to working remotely during the pandemic. In August, 11% of working job seekers wanted to change companies to shift to working from home.
Job Seekers’ Reasons for Remote Work Have Changed in Priority
Throughout the year, the reasons job seekers prefer remote work changed in priority. For example, at the beginning of the year, health and safety concerns were the top reason for 49% of respondents. The percentage went down to an average of 33% in the third quarter. On the other hand, commuting costs were a major concern for 50% of respondents in January. It increased to 64% in July and August. This is understandable, given the high inflation rate and economic uncertainties over the past few months. About 34% did say in July that the increase in gas prices had made them look for remote work.
Remote Work Allows Companies To Hire Women and Minorities
According to the study, women are more likely to prefer remote work for various reasons. For example, they may be the primary caregivers at home and prefer to balance work with personal responsibilities. As the pandemic effects have come down, the percentage of women wanting remote work has slightly reduced but remains above 65%. Hence, remote work can be valuable in retaining and hiring women.
Minority workers are also more likely than white workers to prefer remote work for many reasons. Hence, remote work can help companies attract more people from a minority background.
Source: SpiceWorks
- Global Employee Monitoring Software Market Size To Reach USD 2.10 Billion By 2030 | CAGR Of 7.2% | Yahoo Finance
The Global Employee Monitoring Software Market Size was valued at USD 1.12 Billion in 2021 and is expected to reach USD 2.10 Billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 7.2% during 2021-2030, as per the latest research report by Spherical Insights & Consulting. Workplace monitoring has been in many shapes and forms for a long time. Workplace monitoring has taken many forms depending on the modes of production, ranging from counting and weighing output and payment by piece rate in pre-industrial culture to clocking in and punching out in industrial society. To put it another way, workplace spying is nothing new. It is neither discordant nor unreasonable to think that employers have both the right and the reason to do so, when viewed through the lens of capitalism’s rationale. In today’s workplace, however, many employees use business digital technology for personal as well as professional purposes. Partly as a result, there is a growing availability of relatively inexpensive and simple-to-use technology, such as software monitoring tools that enable businesses to monitor their employees.
Source: Yahoo Finance
- Cross-border hybrid and remote working – what next? – Mike Lavan | KPMG
Distance working has become prevalent as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic: a necessary revolution in how we go to work. However, hybrid and distance working are now embedded in many organisations’ working practices. What was once the exception, and often considered a perk, has become an integral and expected part of modern working practices that continues to evolve with the changing demands of the labour market. The Office of Tax Simplification’s (OTS) review of hybrid and distance working has now concluded, with its findings due to be published by the end of the year. KPMG in the UK has responded to this review, identifying several potential areas where simplification benefits could be achieved for employers, employees and HMRC. This article focuses on areas concerning internationally-mobile workers and may be read in conjunction with our related article focusing on the UK domestic aspects of the OTS’s review.
Enhancing HMRC’s guidance for employers and employees
Another key difficulty for cross-border working arrangements is the general availability of guidance to support an employer’s tax compliance process. By way of example, we have encountered uncertainty from employers where a non-UK company has an employee working for that entity from their home in the UK and they need to determine whether there is a PAYE withholding obligation in the UK (either due to the employer having a PAYE presence or another UK entity being subject to the ‘host employer’ rule at s.689 ITEPA 2003). Published guidance in relation to the practical application of the PAYE rules in such cases is limited and so we would endorse a review and expansion of HMRC’s guidance to include examples that address modern remote and distance working arrangements.
Source: KPMG
