2023 Labor Market Sneak Peek

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Affinity HR Group is hard at work preparing our semiannual Labor Market Summary. We look forward to sharing our analysis with you later this month! In the meantime, this week's HR Minute takes a quick look at what to expect of the year ahead.

Labor Market Sneak Peek

At the end of 2022, the labor market was still competitive and tight. Recent job growth was higher than projected, with 223,000 jobs added in December and the unemployment rate declined slightly to 3.5%. Wages increased by 0.3% in December, representing the smallest growth in average hourly earnings in four months.

Great Resignation
It appears “the Great Resignation” is slowing down but approximately 4 million people are still quitting their jobs each month. Employees are quitting for a variety of reasons including:

Personal- illness, care for family, pursuit of other career or educational opportunities
Better compensation- higher wages, more paid time off, better insurance options
Greater flexibility- remote work, flexible scheduling
Escaping a poor corporate culture- long hours, poor management, blatant discrimination, harassment

With over 10 million job openings (equivalent to 1.7 openings for each person looking for a job), employees still greatly control the job market…for now.

Job Market
The state of the economy will impact the job market in 2023. Financial experts have been warning about a recession but with a currently strong economy and the rate of inflation slowing, they now think it may be weaker and shorter than originally feared.

Inflation
While the layoffs at large tech companies like Amazon, Twitter, and Meta make headlines, many companies are not expecting to lay off employees given their need to meet continuing demand and their need for qualified workers. Instead, we may see fewer job openings as companies reduce their hiring efforts while waiting out the threat of recession.

Tips for Employers
Employers need to prepare their companies to adjust to the fluctuating and uncertain conditions of the economy and job market. Employers should also be attuned to the financial, flexibility, and developmental needs of their employees to retain them.

Help When You Need It!
Affinity HR Group can help you spend your compensation dollars effectively with services such as market pricing or pay structure audit. Connect with us at hello @AffinityHRGroup.com or 877-660-6400 to learn more.

The Monday HR Minute, brought to you by Affinity HR Group, is designed to provide you with practical, applicable human resources and management advice and information. We believe that by dedicating just a few minutes a week to thinking about people management practices, business owners and managers can make enormous strides in improving workplace performance.

Affinity HR Group is a full service human resources consulting firm that specializes in advising small and medium-sized enterprises. Our services include recruiting and selection, HR policies and compliance, ad hoc HR support, compensation and performance management, and training and development. We are an endorsed HR partner of a number of leading national trade associations and offer free initial consultations and discounted services to their member companies.
Email us at contact@affinityhrgroup.com or call 877-660-6400.

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This e-mail may contain general information about legal matters. Affinity HR Group does not provide legal counsel. The information provided should not be considered legal advice and should not be relied on as an alternative to legal advice from your attorney or other professional legal services provider. If you have any specific questions about this content or any legal matter you should consult your attorney or other professional legal services provider.