Looking Ahead

As our business begins the budgeting process for 2008, we are starting to focus some of our attention on what is in the cards for all aspects of the employment industry that directly impacts our performance. The Employment Guide is focused on the non-exempt, hourly workforce or the service industry side of the labor economy, which now represents close to 80% of the entire workforce in the United States. Given that we are so closely aligned with the labor economy, it should be no surprise that we pay particular attention to job growth projections and related statistics. Some of the more interesting statistics as far as the labor economy goes is in the fact that in 2006 the US labor economy added 2.26 million jobs verses projections of up to 1.5 million in 2007. All reports that I have come across from multiple resources indicate that 2008 should hold steady and be a close mirror of 2007. The economy will continue to grow, there will be a steady decline in the national unemployment rate, seasonal hiring trends will remain in tact and businesses will have an increasingly hard time staffing their companies as more boomers decide to exit the workforce.

Older workers are the key to satisfying many of the needs of businesses that are feeling the pinch of the tightening labor market. Just like the economy has been fueled by this great American generation, so will the next five to ten years of the labor economy (barring significant immigration reform or increased automation through improved technologies). What can an older worker bring to your organization? Experience for one thing, which in and of itself has a great value. Not to mention is professional maturity and potentially a new perspective.

Due to the majority of the readers of my blog being employees of The Employment Guide, I am sure most of you are well aware of the initiative that we have in place in partnership with the Department of Labor's upcoming Employ the Older Worker Week, as well as our corresponding job fair series of more than 40 job fairs in 26 states to help hiring managers and companies tap into this great labor resource. The AARP Foundation is also a major sponsor of this event. This is a significant event that represents a new opportunity given that in the very near future one out of every three employees will be 50+ years old. While a lot of time and effort from a multitude of folks in my organization have gone into putting together the logistics of this event, I must give kudos to Amy Hoster, regional marketing coordinator in our Phoenix office, for leading our efforts and ultimately bringing this to the forefront of our efforts. Great job, Amy!

So back to the economy and looking ahead a bit into the future. What else can we expect? A couple of positive items are that inventories are going to need to be replenished, which will place increased pressure on the transportation industry as freight demand increases steadily throughout the rest of 2007 and into 2008. It is also projected that one out of every four jobs that will be created in 2008 will be in the healthcare industry due to the increased needs of the boomers. Both of these projections fit well with our plans as a business as we continue to position our organization for higher levels of success by placing increased focus on serving both the transportation and health care verticals.

"The economy will add about 1.5 million jobs both this year and next, or an average of 125,000 per month -- enough to sustain income growth and consumer spending. Unemployment is likely to stay below 5% through 2008 -- quite low enough to keep the labor market tight. Many employers, particularly those that depend on skilled labor, will continue to face challenges finding new qualified candidates." (Kiplingerbiz.com: June 1, 2007)

We as a business are not immune to the tightening of the labor force. I am interested in hearing what you are currently doing to keep your staffing complements at desired levels that might fall outside of the normal recruiting and hiring protocol. Obviously for my folks, you will first need to maximize your presence and utilize the opportunities that exist in our suite of recruiting products. What tools do you use and what methods do you employ to keep your hiring funnels full of suitable candidates?