‘Labor Shortage Here to Stay’

It will remain an empowered worker’s job market next year with slews of U.S. openings as employers, including the automotive sector, seek to add staff, say two employment specialists.

Predicting “massive amounts of hiring across the board” is Chris Nichols, vice president of strategy and integration for Jobs.com, an occupation-listing website.

A notable exception to the hiring frenzy is the technology industry, he says. It over-hired during the pandemic, and now is laying off employees. (Twitter, under new owner Elon Musk, has axed thousands of workers recently.)

“But don’t go into 2023 pessimistic about layoffs, especially automotive,” Nichols tells the Society of Automotive Analysts during an online presentation.

As for those tech layoffs, that situation will “normalize,” he predicts. One reason: Auto companies are posting more technology-related positions.   

The U.S. Labor Dept. says employers created 263,000 jobs in November, a dip from 284,000 in October. The unemployment rate was 3.7%, and average wages rose 5.1% year-over-year, according to the agency.

But creating jobs is one thing; filling them is another. Four million potential workers have stayed on the sidelines, says Ron Walters, Jobs.com’s chief revenue officer. “Certain industries face challenges in finding the right talent.”

Many of the sideliners are women, he says. Yet, in an editorial headlined, “Where Did Young Male Workers Go,” The Wall Street Journal says that group’s labor force participation has declined the most, dropping 1.7 percentage points since 2020.  

About half of surveyed employees prefer traditional work structures, such as designated shifts and on-site locations. But the other half doesn’t, Walters says. “Employers need to be flexible to attract and retain talent.”

He’s not suggesting bosses coddle staffers. “But in the last years we’ve seen unprecedented employee power. That’s not going away. Flexibility is needed going forward.  Old-school (employers) will struggle.”

The pandemic caused an explosion in the number of people working from home. LinkedIn reports a 100% increase. Many employers want them to return to on-site jobs. Some employees have balked at that. Nichols proposes a hybrid model.

Will it get easier to hire? Not really.

“The labor shortage is here to stay,” Nichols says. “The available talent pool isn’t growing fast enough to meet long-term market demands.”

Although the U.S. population remains relatively the same, “much of the workforce has aged out,” he says. “They can’t be replaced fast enough.”

Employers can ease hiring pains by making the process easier, Walters says.

He stresses the need to create a positive work culture – and then use that to draw talent. “If people say, ‘That’s a great place to work,’ it will attract people to your organization.”

“Good stories travel fast,” Walters adds.