Future of Recruiting Study Finds 76 Percent of Employers Predict Hiring Demand Will Near or Surpass Pre-Pandemic Levels in 2021

51 percent of adults believe job growth will increase under the Biden administration

LOS ANGELES, CALIF. – January 21, 2021 – According to the 2021 Future of Recruiting Study, published today by CareerArc—a leader in social recruiting solutions—three quarters (76 percent) of companies believe 2021 hiring demand will approach, return to, or even exceed pre-pandemic levels. Half of American adults are just as optimistic: 51 percent believe job growth will increase under the Biden presidency, 28 percent say it will decrease under the new administration, and 21 percent predict neutral impact.

While employers remain positive about recovering labor demand, what they are most anxious about is turnover. The study revealed 61 percent of full-time employees in the U.S. are seeking new jobs in 2021. Talent retention is the top employer concern in 2021, and 39 percent of companies believe at least one in five in their workforce are currently looking for new jobs at other companies. While the majority of adults hope to find new jobs this year, 88 percent of them are concerned about the lack of jobs in their field, two-thirds (68 percent) of whom attribute the lack of jobs to the continued impact of COVID-19 on the economy.

The survey polled 1,156 respondents comprising 667 American adults and 489 human resources and hiring professionals. Additional key findings include:

Work-life balance is more important to job seekers than pay and business stability. Over half (53 percent) of job seekers say discovering evidence that a prospective employer would offer poor or less work-life balance would immediately dissuade them from applying to that company. Poor work-life balance tops the list of job seeker deal-breakers, ranking above other immediate turn-offs including lower salary (50 percent) and a company’s decreasing profits and lack of stability (48 percent).

Job seekers prize employer brand and culture when evaluating current and future opportunities. Despite facing and anticipating a tough labor market, job seekers place positive employer brand, reputation, and culture high on their wishlist when considering applying to, or staying at, a company. 82 percent consider employer brand and reputation before applying to a job—a 7 percent increase in the past five years. Over half (53 percent) of job seekers cite poor or diminishing employer brand and reputation as one of the reasons for leaving a previous job; 20 percent say it was the main reason why they left.

Social media has increased in importance and authority in today’s job search. 61 percent of job seekers say they increased their social media usage in 2020, nearly half (47 percent) of whom increased usage by at least one hour per day. 86 percent of job seekers use social media in their job search and have viewed, searched for, applied to, and engaged with job- and employment-related social media content and/or reached out to contacts and recruiters about jobs on social media.

Social media and social recruiting software top the list of recruiting channels and technologies most used by employers. 92 percent of employers use social and professional networks to recruit talent, ranking above employer referrals (87 percent), job boards (82 percent), and job ads (72 percent). In addition, social media and/or social recruiting software top the list of increased and/or continued technology investments in 2021. In 2020, 35 percent of employers increased their social recruiting efforts.

Diversity hiring is a priority for employers and job seekers alike. One in four job seekers (26 percent) say that diversity, equity, and inclusion messages published by employers would make them more likely to apply to that company. Nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of job seekers say they check social media for employee and consumer comments about workforce diversity, or lack thereof, at a company. For employers, launching or expanding diversity hiring programs is among the top three hiring programs and initiatives in 2021.

Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the U.S. with 1,156 respondents: 489 human resources and hiring professionals and 667 adults ages 18 and over participated in the study between November 16 and December 14, 2020.

Complete Results

Complete results are available in the 2021 Future of Recruiting Study, which capture employers’ and job seekers’ outlook for the year ahead, employees’ opinions of current employers and employment prospects, companies’ top talent priorities and investments, and the roles employer brand and social media play in the search for jobs and top talent. To explore the expanded results of the study, sign up for the live webinar on February 24, 2021 which will reveal more survey insights.

About CareerArc

CareerArc is a leading social recruiting technology company helping organizations attract and hire top candidates where they frequent most—on social media. CareerArc’s social recruiting solutions and services enable organizations to communicate their employer brand at scale and drive meaningful brand awareness, affinity, and engagement to maximize recruiting returns. Through automation, innovation, and strategic client service, CareerArc proudly serves many of the world’s most exciting brands to help them achieve the full recruiting potential of social media. To learn more, visit https://www.careerarc.com/.