With the labor force participation rate at 62.6%, one of the lowest rates in decades, WalletHub today released its report on 2023’s States Where Employers Are Struggling the Most in Hiring, plus expert commentary.
In order to see where employers are struggling the most in hiring, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on the rate of job openings for both the latest month and the last 12 months.
New York Hiring Struggle Stats
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Job openings rate during the latest month: 4.50%
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Job openings rate in the past 12 months: 4.73%
- Overall rank: smallest hiring struggle in the country
Expert Commentary
Why do employers have difficulties in filling employment positions?
“In some sectors, there is simply a shortage of qualified labor or people willing to work for the wages offered. The rise of the gig economy has also created significant flexibility in the labor market, so workers feel less tied down to any one job. The result is that employers cannot count on their employees who are there today to be there tomorrow. In addition, and relatedly, the pandemic has prompted people to reevaluate their priorities, with work sometimes taking less of a central place in their lives. This, too, complicates things for employers.”
Francesco Duina – Professor, Bates College
“There are surely many reasons to this. One could be the nature of the jobs themselves. Unemployment is supposedly very low now but it’s very deceiving. We know many people in the workforce are underemployed, they have jobs with little or no benefits that do not provide a living wage in the area they live (e.g., The Bay Area, CA). Another reason is changing workforce demographics and employees attitudes towards work and employment commitment (e.g., we know millennials have different ideas on the employment and psychological contract between employer and employee).”
Kate Bezrukova, Ph.D. – Associate Professor and Chair of Organization and Human Resources, University at Buffalo
What will be the economic impact, if any, of this trend?
“As inflation rates have cooled due to the actions of the Federal Reserve and other central banks, the desire on the part of workers to seek better-paying employment or employment that helps them maintain their purchasing power may subside. There will still be workers seeking employment that offers them those attributes, so while quit rates should decline, they will still exist.”
Steven Glazer – Professor; Department Chair of Social/Behavioral Science, Norwalk Community College
“One impact has been inflation, but we are probably seeing it slow down now thanks to rising interest rates. Another will be that employers will have to reconfigure certain jobs to make them more appealing. Yet another will likely be that we will have a significant number of people who have not had normal careers or dependable sources of income, thus putting a strain on social services and the like.”
Francesco Duina – Professor, Bates College
How can employers attract and retain employees during this troubling period?
“As they say in real estate, ‘location, location, location.’ This manifests in two ways. First, many employees have come to love working from home. Employers who are able to continue to accommodate working from home are going to find themselves at a competitive advantage in recruiting. For those jobs where working from home is not feasible, the physical location of an office will still continue to be a significant factor in recruiting. This is true for obvious reasons, such as whether an office location is close to an employee’s existing home or is in an area where real estate prices are cheap or traffic is good. But, especially as our society becomes more politically polarized, we will also see the impact of different state laws on employee recruitment. It is easier now than it has ever been to choose the location where you will work. Employees will continue to look at typical factors, such as cost of living and proximity to family, when examining work locations. But now, prospective employees will also consider whether the state where their employer is located has favorable or unfavorable policies towards them, whether those be laws related to equality, health care, taxes, privacy, or a host of other issues.”
Mike Golden – Lecturer and Director, Advocacy Programs, University of Texas School of Law
“A recent survey showed that the top priority of many employers is employee retention, which they view as more critical than revenue generation. This reveals how pertinent this question is since retention of employees will ensure stability and serve to minimize costs associated with hiring, onboarding, and training new employees. In any situation, incentives play a key role in attracting and retaining employees. These can be financial in nature, flexible work schedules, or even the opportunity to work remotely when possible. Offering workers what they are seeking will contribute to higher retention rates.”
Steven Glazer – Professor; Department Chair of Social/Behavioral Science, Norwalk Community College