April 2024 - National & Local Employment Data Update

Matt’s Take on Current Conditions:

“As we turn the corner from Q1 and move into Q2, I do not expect to see hiring improve. On both sides of the hiring equation, we continue to see all parties dig in their heels and lose flexibility. To find the right candidate for your business will only become more challenging as we move further into 2024. The reality of the employment situation today is that business will most likely need to convince a candidate to leave their current role to join their business. This means there will continue to be upward pressure on businesses to raise wages as they will be in competition for talent.”

Key Updates – National News Impacting Employment/Hiring

• HR leaders rank compensation as their biggest challenge this year (50%), over recruiting (44%), retention (42%), and engagement (37%) (Payscale).?
• Job changers saw a 5.3% increase in wages in February, down from 5.6% in January. For those who stayed in their jobs the tracker was 4.7%, same as January. (Atlanta Fed)
• ADP has found that job-changers pay gains rose to 7.6% this month from 7.2% last month (ADP Employment Report)
• …the ongoing slowdown in quits is significant. Over the past three months, the overall quits rate has averaged 2.2%, down from a recent three-month average peak of 3% reached in January 2022… (Indeed Hiring Lab)
• For the year ahead, 54% of CFOs expect economic conditions in North America to improve, up from 37% tracked the previous quarter.?(Deloitte CFO Signals)
• In February, 20% of companies in the index increased staffing, 60% made no change to their headcounts, and 20% reduced employment totals.?(CBIZ Small Business Employment Index)
• The 3.1% increase (Help Wanted Online Index) between February and January followed a 0.3 percent decrease between January and December. Overall, the Index is down 7.3% from one year ago. (Conference-Board)?

Local Data Impacting the Jobs/Employment Market

• Florida hiring decreased in January by 94,000 (State Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary)
• Florida job openings dropped to 518,000 from 522,00 in December and the ratio of unemployed individuals was 0.7 unemployed individuals per job opening. (BLS)
• The unemployment rate in Pinellas County is 3.1%, Hillsborough – 3.2%, and Pasco – 3.8%. The Tampa-St. Petersburg – Clearwater MSA was 2nd in the state in over the year job gains at +29,600 jobs. (Florida Jobs)

Monthly Average Wage Update For The Tampa Bay Area

At PrideStaff, our mission is to deliver the value that "matters most" to our clients. Simply put, we custom-tailor our services to you and your objectives. We want to help you, so feel free to contact us if you are struggling to hire, or keep, the talent in your business. I am always happy to answer questions about trends in the market.

Contact Me At:

Tampa Office - 813-560-8780

Clearwater Office - 727-748-4141

https://www.pridestaff.com/hire-pridestaff/

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