What does a low unemployment rate mean to you?
With the record low unemployment rates Canada has seen in the last year, businesses have been faced with a candidate’s market, featuring strong competition for talent and rising average hourly wages. Even as the unemployment rate begins to cool off, it’s important to keep in mind the importance of low unemployment rates to your recruitment strategy.
July’s rise in the unemployment rate to 5.7 percent comes on the heels of months of record lows of the important economic indicator. The unemployment rate even hit a 43-year low of 5.4 percent in May and, while showing signs of cooling off, is still above what it was in July 2018. As we watch the unemployment rate in the coming months, let’s take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of low unemployment for Canadians.
First from the employees’ perspective.
For workers, a low unemployment rate is a clear positive. A larger number of jobs aren’t being filled, which means that candidates have a better selection of employment opportunities. Plus, as employers strive to attract top talent, we see wages increase in a candidate-driven market, which is no more evident than in the 4.5 percent jump in hourly wage growth that happened in July.
With more jobs available than qualified candidates to fill them, employers face serious challenges hiring for open roles within their organization. This is where we start to see the negative effects of low unemployment. As increasing competition for skilled labour puts employers in a position where they have to select candidates who lack the right requirements for the role, employers often bear the burden of low unemployment rates.
Managing staffing requirements with low unemployment rates
So how do you hire in a candidate’s market? Here are the best techniques to stay competitive and attract top talent.
Practice smart recruitment
Recruiting within a candidate-driven market leaves little room for error. Be sure to research the market value of your open positions and offer a competitive salary for the successful candidate. Then speed up your hiring process to ensure you don’t lose the perfect candidate to another organization.
Onsite training of technical skills
Broaden your candidate pool by recruiting candidates who may be lacking some of the technical skills required for the role. Investing in additional training or education for new hires may be the best way to increase your hiring success within the competitive labour market, especially when searching for candidates with specific, niche skills.
Offer employment perks
If your compensation offerings just can’t stack up against fierce competition, gain an edge by diversifying your compensation package to include other employment perks. Include incentives such as flexible schedules, health and dental benefits, employee development programs and work-from-home options to offer a lucrative package for candidates who may be receiving higher salary offers from your competition.
Develop in-house
Consider internal recruitment for hard-to-fill positions. Rewarding dedicated employees with opportunities to advance their careers not only helps recruit for those challenging openings, it promotes a corporate culture that believes in employee development, which can be very attractive to potential new hires.
Maintain a skilled workforce throughout Canada’s low unemployment with the help of Adecco. To learn more about our recruitment support services, contact your local branch today!
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