According to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, Massachusetts added 6,500 jobs in November and saw its unemployment rate dip slightly from 7.2 percent in October to 7.1 percent in November. Currently, the national unemployment rate is 7 percent, making this the first time since 2007 that Massachusetts’ unemployment rate has been higher than the national average.
For more information, see this Boston Globe article.
By Frank Gentile
2014 looks to be a good year for job growth; it might even be the best that Boston has seen since before the recession. All of the surveys – including those of employers, hiring managers and job seekers – are pointing up, and most companies will tell you they have plans to hire in the New Year.
This means we’ll likely see a shift toward an employee-driven job market (away from an employer-driven market) in which candidates may receive multiple job offers and employers have a more difficult time with retention and with finding candidates who qualified for their open positions.
Beginning in 2014, here are some trends I forecast we’ll start seeing:
Companies will get creative in their efforts to attract employees – With a tighter labor pool to select from, we’ll start to see companies get more aggressive in attracting candidates. The last time this happened, with the tech sector in the late 90’s, we saw employers highlight workplace perks like foosball tables and bring-your-pet-to-work policies. Similarly, I believe we’ll see an increase in sign-on bonuses and perhaps stock plan offers to attract highly-skilled workers.
Health insurance benefits will feature more prominently in job offers – The Affordable Care Act has changed the healthcare options for numerous workers and helped emphasize healthcare plans overall. For employers with premium benefits, expect to start seeing job offers that specifically highlight healthcare benefits.
Baby Boomers will finally retire – The first Baby Boomers turned 62 in 2008, making them eligible to claim retirement benefits. However, the U.S. economy took a nosedive that same year and prompted many Boomers to stay in the workplace. Now that they’re eligible for full retirement benefits and the economy has stabilized and is starting to improve, we’ll see a lot more workers from this generation begin to retire. This will open up jobs at the managerial level and, as companies train younger workers for these roles, it will create opportunities at lower levels too. Employers will need to add employees to fill the subsequent gaps in the workplace.
Employers will enhance workforce diversity plans – There are many reasons to hire diverse workers, and now one of the most pressing is the need to find and retain quality employees. Faced with a shortage of qualified job applicants, employers will need to tap into new pools of skilled candidates. Organizations that have effective plans for attracting a diverse workforce will be at a competitive advantage. Recruiters will target passive candidates –In 2014 recruiters will have no choice but to look for passive candidates, i.e. candidates who aren’t actively seeking a new job. This means using social networks like LinkedIn and industry associations and organizations to search for and communicate with prospects.
Informational interviews will increase – Companies are starting to spend more time with informational interview candidates and on exploratory meetings, in order to develop a network and candidate pool. Some firms will hire top workers even if they don’t have a specific position available for that worker.
Frank Gentile is a 20+ year veteran of the staffing industry and an experienced recruiter. As a Director at Professional Staffing Group (PSG) Frank oversees the permanent placement division.
Last week, PSG staff “bought” themselves the opportunity to wear jeans to work. Staff members, who are normally professionally-dressed, made donations in order to wear jeans to the office. The money raised was donated to the Greater Boston Food Bank to support families in need at Thanksgiving. PSG’s CEO Aaron Green personally matched what the rest of the staff was able to raise. In all, PSG contributed funds to feed 16 Boston families!
PSG Staff on Jeans Day
The Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development has released unemployment data from September and October which show that the State’s unemployment rate remains at 7.2 percent, despite dipping slightly in September and the addition of 9,100 jobs in October.
Nationally, the unemployment rate is 7.3 percent for October. Massachusetts is among 11 states to show increased unemployment numbers. Unemployment rates decreased in 28 states last month.
Read more here.
PSG was proud to sponsor a reception for the Boston Globe’s 2013 Top Places to Work honorees. Held last Thursday evening at the Boston Seaport World Trade Center, the event recognized Boston area companies whose employees ranked them as the top places to work with research and surveys conducted by Workplace Dynamics.
Congratulations to all the PSG clients who were honored in this year’s survey! We’re proud to work with so many top organizations.
A new forecast by the New England Economic Partnership estimates that employment in Massachusetts will increase at an average annual rate of 1.4 percent, or about 45,000-50,000 jobs a year, through 2017. The unemployment rate in Massachusetts is projected to decline to 5.2 percent by 2017; it is currently at 7.2 percent.
Read more about the forecast here.
After an exciting World Series came to a close the night prior to Halloween, many offices in Massachusetts were quiet on the 31st – filled with exhausted employees who had stayed up late many nights in a row to watch the Red Sox win the World Series. While many of us here at PSG did watch the game, the PSG office definitely was not “quiet” or “exhausted” on Halloween!
In keeping with the spirit of Halloween, Professional Staffing Group encouraged employees to partake in some exciting office festivities!
The day began as all other days, but when the clock struck noon, it was time for PSG’s trick-or-treating to begin. Each PSG team within the company was responsible for bringing in a homemade or store-purchased Halloween treat – the normal candies, as well as items such as pumpkin bread, cookies, and other baked goods were some of the highlights of the office trick-or-treating.
The spirit of Halloween didn’t end there! We had a number of employees who wore costumes throughout the day at the office – we had pirates, witches, and much more. Below, check out some of the costumes that could be found around the office on Thursday!
This month’s issue of Workforce magazine includes a special report on the staffing industry. PSG’s President Aaron Green spoke with Workforce for the article, lending his perspective to the drivers behind the temporary staffing industry’s growth.
Some notable points from the article:
Read the full article here.
PSG was proud to sponsor the Boston Business Journal ‘Leaders in Diversity’ event, which took place at the Omni Parker House in Boston on October 25. As a charity partner for the event, PSG’s Aaron Green was delighted to honor the Asian American Civic Association with a $2,500 gift. The Asian American Civic Association (AACA) has provided decades of support to those members of the community who may need assistance to excel in their careers. AACA offers English classes, job training and youth development, along with other programs, to help immigrants and people from all walks of life succeed in the workforce, as well as in our society.
PSG President Aaron Green and AACA Board Chair Mary Chin
This week the American Staffing Association (ASA) held its annual conference, Staffing World, in Orlando. As one of the biggest conferences for staffing industry firms and professionals, Staffing World always offers news and informative exhibits. As a member of the ASA Board of Directors, and its past Chairman of the Board, PSG’s President Aaron Green was in Orlando for the conference. Here are a few updates from Aaron:
Professional Staffing Group 