LinkedIn recruiting statistics clearly show that using LinkedIn both for finding a job and discovering talent is on the rise. 

Members of the LinkedIn community can connect, find jobs, apply for them, post them, share content, or create a professional network. Some of LinkedIn’s revenue comes from selling information from its database to employers and recruiters, and this is why it’s so essential for the hiring process.

Check out these informative stats to find out why the site is the world’s most popular professional social platform. 

Fascinating Stats on the Use of LinkedIn to Recruit Talent
(Editor’s Choice)

  • LinkedIn is the leading professional social network for recruitment, used by 77% of recruiters.
  • According to 35% of professionals, a casual chat on LinkedIn can lead to job opportunities.
  • There are 148 industries listed on LinkedIn.
  • 774 million people throughout the world use LinkedIn.
  • LinkedIn ads can reach 663.3 million people.
  • Four people are hired every minute on LinkedIn.
  • More than 176 million employees in the US have a LinkedIn account.
  • The LinkedIn database counts 15 million active jobs.

Social Media Recruiting Statistics

1. LinkedIn is the leading professional social network for recruitment, used by 77% of recruiters.

A survey by Jobvite has shown that 77% of recruiters use LinkedIn, 63% Facebook, and 25% Instagram. Recruiters are using social media to proactively search for candidates, which especially applies to LinkedIn. Developing one’s network is vital since social media recruiting statistics reveal that 80% of people get jobs thanks to networking

2. The best time to post a job on LinkedIn is four months before the start date.

The main reason for posting a job four months before the start date is to provide enough time for the processes of hiring and onboarding. This period should be enough to interview candidates and facilitate the rest of the recruitment process. 

3. 92% of recruiters use at least one social network.

According to the hiring statistics, in 2021, approximately nine in 10 recruiters use some social network in the US. The numbers are similar in the UK. As we can see from these stats, the impact of social media on the hiring process is enormous. 

4. 58% of recruiters in North America find social media an excellent place to discover candidates.

Finding candidates through social media, databases of existing candidates, or CRM systems are all good sources for finding candidates for 58% of recruiters. LinkedIn for employers is becoming more and more popular; however, according to 62% of recruiters, referrals from successful placements are still the most significant candidate source.

5. There are 148 industries listed on LinkedIn.

The top three industries with the largest number of members on LinkedIn are information technology and services (10.9%), marketing and advertising (8.9%), and human resources (3.9%). The bottom three are dairy, nanotechnology, and shipbuilding. 

Top industries have more opportunities but also more competition. However, LinkedIn users by industry stats indicate that no matter the low numbers, people coming from the least popular industries can have good networks, too. They just need to be more active on the platform.

6. Job boards account for 19.12% of successful job applications worldwide.

According to the Statista Researching Department, the top source of hires are career sites, accounting for 28.93% of all hires.

Online job boards are the second most popular (19.12%) source of job hires. That being said, even though the role of modern technology is becoming more and more prominent, 12.26% of job hires still occur via referrals. 

LinkedIn User Statistics 

7. LinkedIn has more than 774 million users worldwide.

LinkedIn is the leading online recruiting platform with over 774 million users in 2021. The level of users’ engagement has also increased in Q3 of fiscal 2021: Content sharing rose 29%, conversations 43%, and hours on LinkedIn Learning soared 80%.

8. More than 180 million employees in the US have a LinkedIn account.

According to a Statista report from July 2021, the US has the biggest LinkedIn market size with over 180 million members. Other countries with a significant number of users are India 78 million users), China (more than 50 million users), Brazil (over 49 million users), and the UK (31 million profiles).

9. Job seekers spend on average 10 minutes and  42 seconds on LinkedIn daily.

On LinkedIn, active users in search of a job spend on average 10 minutes and 42 seconds per day reviewing job postings. According to Alexa, LinkedIn takes 55th place in global Internet engagement. 

10. Every connection on LinkedIn is an opportunity to connect with 400 new people on average.

A new user connection can lead to 400 new contacts, 100 new companies, and more than 500 jobs. Given that the average number of LinkedIn connections for each user is 930, opportunities for any professional to find their dream job aren’t lacking. In fact, according to statistics, more than 35 million people got hired via their LinkedIn connections. 

11. 56.9% of LinkedIn users worldwide are males.

July 2021 statistics reveal that there is a gender difference in the use of LinkedIn around the globe. Namely, men use the platform more often than women.

12. 59.9% of LinkedIn users worldwide are aged 25-34.

The majority of LinkedIn users belong to the 25-34 age category, according to the Linkedin user statistics in 2021. Users aged 18-24 account for 20.3% of the total. People from the 35-54 age group make up 16.9%, and the age group of 55-plus is the most underrepresented (3%).

13. 35% of job seekers utilize social networks to get in touch with potential employers.

While 35% of job seekers are focused on employers, 24% of them are searching for recruiters or headhunters on social networks. Seventy-nine percent of HR professionals state that networking is one of the essential tools for career development, so it’s no wonder so many job seekers take advantage of social media. 

HR statistics suggest that job applicants need to have a solid online reputation in addition to a proactive approach to be successful in their search.

LinkedIn Hiring Statistics for 2021 

14. Companies receive 210 million applications monthly via LinkedIn. 

With employers receiving so many job applications each month, a candidate must find a way to stand out of the crowd. They can achieve it by taking courses and tests, applying for a job as soon as it becomes available, and choosing relevant skills from more than 38,000 skills listed on the platform to add to their profile. 

LinkedIn now offers instant job notifications to inform users about the newest jobs as soon as employers post them. After this feature was added to LinkedIn, the number of applicants increased rapidly.

15. Recruiters contacted 122 million LinkedIn users via their LinkedIn profiles to arrange an interview.

LinkedIn is an excellent tool for finding talent. Recruiters actively use it to invite people to job interviews since this platform offers an easy way to connect and communicate with candidates. 

16. A casual chat on LinkedIn can lead to job opportunities, according to 35% of hiring professionals.

Casual chats can be more than just random conversations. On professional social networks, they can lead to mutual understanding and new business ideas. 

According to LinkedIn recruiting statistics, 61% of professionals stated that actively using networks, in general, can lead to new job opportunities.

17. 77% of companies try to retain talent by improving their experience.

Employee experience and feedback are becoming more valuable to employers. Besides retaining talent, 71% of recruiters try to boost employee experience to increase their productivity, and 40% do it to fulfill the expectations of Millenials and Gen Z. 

18. 30% of talent acquisition specialists use InMail.

InMail is a feature that lets you send direct messages to members who aren’t your connections on LinkedIn. The number of applicants who answer InMail, however, is relatively low. That’s why, even though 30% of recruiters use it, only 15% find it useful for interacting with candidates.

In general, 39% of recruiters see email communication as the best way to connect with candidates. 

19. The number of hires in July 2021 in the US was 38.3% higher compared to the same period in 2020.

Although finding jobs through LinkedIn has become easier as the US economy is heading toward recovery, the number of hires is still 5.3% lower than in February 2020, before the onset of the pandemic.

20. There are over 15 million active job listings on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is trying to implement new tools to facilitate the process of finding a job. Because the number of jobs posted on LinkedIn is continually growing, Linkedin implements valuable tools such as courses candidates can complete to increase their chances of landing a particular job. LinkedIn also enables so-called Instant Job Notifications to notify the job seeker as soon as a job they might be interested in is posted. 

21. Every minute, four people get hired on LinkedIn, according to hiring statistics for 2021.

LinkedIn is a community of over 774 million members in 200 countries and regions. More than 57 million companies are listed on this social platform, and over 40 million people search for a job every week. Therefore, it’s no wonder that every minute, four people get hired via LinkedIn.

LinkedIn Job Advertising

22. There are currently more than 15 million job advertisements on LinkedIn.

According to the company’s August Workforce Report 2021 for the US, more than 97,000 companies recruit via LinkedIn. They post approximately 3 million jobs each month.

23. The US has a 69.4% audience reach via LinkedIn ads.

A Statista survey from July 2021 informs us that the United States ranked seventh on the list of countries with the highest LinkedIn job ads audience reach.

24. The best time to post on LinkedIn is around 8 a.m., noon, and from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Most people check their profiles before work, after work, and during their lunch break. Some findings suggest that a good time to post is also the interval between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. because many people spend time on LinkedIn in the morning for business reasons. 

People also prefer checking LinkedIn on weekdays, so the best days to post on LinkedIn are in the middle of the week - on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. 

Conclusion

The LinkedIn recruiting statistics we’ve gathered here confirm that recruiting over professional social networks is a popular trend in 2021. Many social media platforms, including Instagram and Twitter, are used for this purpose, and one out of 10 job applicants finds a job via social media platforms

However, LinkedIn’s shown to be the number one network for recruiting and job seeking. With millions of active users, jobs, and employers, the platform represents an indispensable tool for everyone involved in the hiring/job-seeking process.