Recruitment statistics show how much the hiring process has changed across various industries over the years. With the arrival of automation and artificial intelligence, employers are beginning to give more value to an employee’s soft skills, such as time-management and leadership. This new trend is rising due to machines being able to do most of the mechanical labor.

Keeping on top of the latest trends will help employers look for new hiring methods and recruit top talents to grow their companies. It will also help job seekers understand what employers value in potential employees to increase their chances of getting hired.

Essential Recruitment Statistics (Editor’s Picks)

  • India’s hiring volume will increase by 76%.
  • 87% of companies conduct pre-employment background checks.
  • Mobile job seekers complete 53% fewer job applications.
  • 58% of job searches last less than two months.
  • It takes approximately 6–12 interviews to land a job.
  • A recruiter only needs 7.4 seconds to evaluate a candidate’s resume.
  • 41% of employees found their jobs on online job boards.
  • 73% of employees aged 18–34 found their recent job on social media.
  • Nearly 80% of companies use social media in their recruitment process.
  • 67% of large firms report having difficulties hiring new employees.

1. 64% of US companies had plans to expand operations in 2019.

With two-thirds of US companies planned to expand operations in 2019, an increase in the overall successful interviews was to be expected. Compared to the 2018 survey, where 69% of US companies planned to expand operations, 2019’s rate is slightly lower.

2. In 2019, 40% of employers intended to employ permanent full-time employees.

There is a current skills gap that makes it harder for employers to find qualified candidates. However, to help eliminate this obstacle, employees and companies have been mutually dedicated to competency-based training. According to recruitment statistics, 59% of employers are even willing to hire candidates who may not be fully qualified but do have potential.

3. 67% of large firms report having challenges in filling positions.

Meanwhile, only 32% of micro-companies (companies with less than ten employees) report having challenges in recruitment. The percentage is 45% in small companies and 56% in medium companies. When surveyed, statistics show that the top two reasons why companies can’t fill positions are due to a lack of applicants and applicants lacking the required experience.

4. 81% of hiring professionals agree that internal recruiting improves employee retention.

According to recruitment statistics in 2020, nearly two-thirds of hiring professionals claim that their company needs to improve internal recruiting, even though it plays a crucial role in improving employee morale and retention. 63% of hiring professionals believe that internal hiring can accelerate the hiring process, and 69% think it can accelerate new hires’ productivity.

5. To address talent shortages, 54% of employers provide additional development and training.

As trends continue to change, employers have to develop innovative ways to overcome labor shortages consistently. Aside from providing additional development and training, 32% of employers offer more perks and benefits, and 23% offer flexible hours or remote working.

Social Media Recruitment Statistics

6. Almost 80% of employers use social media as a recruitment tool in 2019.

The rate of social media usage as a recruitment tool has increased significantly over the last few years. A whopping 80% of employers used social media as part of their recruitment system in 2018, which is quite the jump from 68.7% during the year before. Among those who use social media in their recruitment efforts, 69.6% reported increased usage over the last year. 17.7% reported a significant increase. In comparison, only less than 5% reported a decrease in use, according to recruitment trends.

7. 60% of recruiters report that social media is fairly important for recruitment.

With the average employee spending 13 hours of their workweek on social media, it comes as no surprise that recruiters consider it an important recruitment tool. Recent statistics show that only 2.5% of recruiters believe social media to be unimportant for recruitment.

8. 68% of recruiters state that they found the most success on LinkedIn.

An in-depth recruiter network survey found that all respondents were active on LinkedIn, making it the top social media platform used in recruitment. In addition to these LinkedIn recruiting statistics, 75% of recruiters are also active on Facebook, 63% are active on Twitter, and 53% are active on Instagram.

9. 73% of employees aged 18–34 found their recent job on social media.

Gone are the days when the companies who used social media for recruitment and branding were considered pioneers. Nowadays, social media is a powerful tool to reach top talent, particularly millennials and the tech-savvy workforce. Passive job seekers also check social media from time to time for better opportunities.

Job Searching Statistics

10. 45% of job seekers claim that job searching was more challenging in 2019 than in 2018.

This statement is true even with the low unemployment rates and a booming American economy. Data shows that rural workers (27%) are more likely to report having a hard time searching for jobs than the urban population (17%).

11. Job seekers without a college degree are more likely to find job searching difficult than those with a college degree.

Looking further at this hiring trend, you’ll see that job seekers without a college degree (21%) have a hard time looking for a job than those with a college degree (16%). Although many high-paying jobs don’t require you to have a college degree, having a degree will undoubtedly put you ahead of the competition in today’s competitive job market. Those working in high-skilled industries such as technology, marketing, and telecommunications report less difficulty finding a job.

12. 41% of current employees found their jobs on online job boards.

According to the latest job search stats, online job boards (such as Indeed, Glassdoor, LinkedIn, Simply Hired, and ZipRecruiter) are the top sources people consider when looking for new jobs. Both general or industry-specific job boards are included. Job boards are highly likely to attract top talent, making it a go-to recruitment tool for most businesses.

13. 61% of job seekers find job email alerts to be effective.

With a wide variety of job boards to choose from, it can be quite tedious to scroll through seemingly endless job posts and updates. According to recent job search statistics, 88% of job seekers prefer to receive email alerts on their job preferences. Only 10% of those who use job alerts report that they’re very ineffective.

14. 58% of new hires reported that their job search lasted two months or less.

While 58% of new hires took two months or less looking for a job, 43% reported receiving a job offer less than two weeks after applying for a job. Statistics also show that startup companies’ application process is faster than small, medium, and large-sized businesses. According to recent job interview statistics, only 1% of job seekers got a job after six months of going into interviews.

15. Mobile job seekers complete 53% fewer job applications.

Additionally, job statistics show that job seekers who rely mainly on mobile phones to look for jobs take 80% longer to complete an application. This stat indicates that using only mobile phones for job searching can be more challenging. Statistics also show that job seekers between the ages of 35 and 44 are most likely to use their phones in job searching.

Recruiting Process Statistics

16. 80% of employers report that soft skills are equally or more important than hard skills when hiring candidates.

In the automation of jobs, soft skills are a substantial edge humans have over machines and artificial intelligence. Most employers will be looking to hire candidates who are team players (51%), attentive to detail (49%), and have excellent customer service skills (46%).

17. 29% of hiring professionals focus on employee experience to attract candidates.

96% of hiring professionals agree that the importance of employee experience in recruitment is increasingly growing. According to hiring statistics in 2020, they’re not wrong: offering flexible work arrangements increased a company’s headcount growth by 137%. Additionally, having an effective and open management team increased headcount growth by 143%. Interestingly, companies that rated highly on compensation and benefits saw a 56% reduction in headcount, while those companies rated highly on having a purposeful mission saw it drop by 49%.

18. 72% of hiring professionals agree that work flexibility attracts candidates.

Research shows that offering work flexibility improves a company’s hiring stats, giving them better chances of gaining top talent and retaining employees. In today’s fast-paced world, some employees prefer working from home and having the freedom to choose their work hours, which according to workplace wellness statistics, helps improve work-life balance and increase worker’s satisfaction rate.

19. It only takes 7.4 seconds for recruiters to evaluate the resume of a candidate.

With a deadline to bring in new employees and many resumes to look through, recruiters don’t always have the luxury of carefully perusing every resume that comes in. Recent recruitment analytics show that, on average, it only takes 7.4 seconds to decide whether a candidate will advance to the next stage of the recruitment process.

20. 87% of companies conduct pre-employment background checks.

In 98% of the cases, recruiters do background checks to search for a candidate’s criminal record. Additionally, 15% of hiring professionals conduct a yearly background check on their workers, 13% are done in preparation for events, and 10% are done during promotions or job changes.

Global Hiring Statistics

21. In 2019, 54% of companies worldwide report labor shortages.

2019 holds the highest recorded global labor shortage and is nearly twice as much as the percentage in 2009 when the labor shortage was at 30%. The widening skills gap is likely causing a high percentage of a labor shortage, which can be addressed by teaching employees new skills.

22. 71% of European companies are either willing to or plan to hire international employees in 2019.

The recruitment industry is reporting an upward trend in both Europe and the Asia Pacific. While 71% of European companies planned to hire international employees in 2019, 69% of companies in the Asia Pacific region are looking to do the same. On the contrary, in the United States, a downward trend is observed. In 2018, 40% of US companies hired international applicants, down from the recorded 45% in 2017 and 51% in 2016.

23. India’s hiring volume is expected to increase to 76%.

This upward trend in recruiting industry statistics is not just evident in India. All over the world, companies are hiring more people because of new technological developments. There is a projected 67% increase in Mexico, a 62% increase in Southeast Asia, and a 61% increase in Germany when it comes to hiring volume.

24. Globally, 77% of recruitment leaders report that the skills shortage is the greatest challenge in recruitment in 2020.

The skills shortage has been a longstanding challenge in the industry, according to recent trends. In addition to the skills shortage, 44% of recruitment leaders worldwide are also having a hard time convincing employers to increase pay rates for candidates. Lastly, 30% of them are concerned about higher attrition rates.

25. Global recruitment statistics in 2019 show that 37.2% of talent teams primarily use email to reach out to potential candidates.

This finding makes email the top channel used in candidate outreach around the world in 2019. Phone or text messages ended in second place, with 27.9% of talent teams worldwide utilizing them. Additionally, LinkedIn InMail gained 15.1% of the popularity, 12.2% reach out to candidates in person, and 5.2% reach out through chat messaging.

Conclusion

Looking through these new recruitment trends can be beneficial to both job seekers and recruitment professionals alike. These trends and statistics can help in updating the current recruitment methodologies.

As an employer, keeping your finger on the latest statistics’ pulse will give you an idea of what potential candidates value and give you some competitive advantage. It will also help mitigate common recruitment challenges, such as talent shortages, skills shortages, and high employee turnover statistics.

Employees will also benefit from keeping abreast of the latest trends in preparation for job hunting and landing their dream job.