Job Market Forecast 2014

Posted January 7, 2014

It may not have been very noticeable, but the job market did improve in 2013.

• According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 186,300 jobs were created per month on average from January to October.
• This beats the 172,700 jobs created during the same period in 2012 and 169,900 in 2011.
• November 2013 showed additional gains of 203,000 jobs.
• According to the Society for Human Resource Management’s Leading Indicators of National Employment report, service-sector hiring surpassed the 2012 rate for 11 out of 12 months in 2013.
•  The same was true in the manufacturing industry for eight months in 2013.

With such a definite upward trend in employment last year, many analysts are predicting a healthy job market in 2014. If you’ve been thinking about switching jobs, or if you need a new job, now is the time to start looking. Here are a few things you should know:

• The most popular hiring areas are predicted to be:
  • sales
  • information technology
  • customer service
  • production
  • administrative
  • engineering
  • marketing
  • business development
  • accounting/finance
  • research/development
  • human resources.

• Full-time, permanent hiring may not be the way to go. More companies are relying on temporary and contract hiring to meet their needs. This allows them to have flexibility in their workforce, just as it allows you to have flexibility in your hours.

• “Onshoring” is replacing offshoring. The U.S. government has strongly supported initiatives to bring jobs back to America and it seems to be working. 23 percent of companies who offshore jobs said they brought some of those jobs back to the U.S. in 2013, and 26 percent plan to do so in 2014.

• Compensation will be more competitive for specialized and in-demand positions, especially in sales and IT.

Is 2014 the year that you go after your dream job? A better job in your same field? Or do you feel it’s time to try something new. Employers are launching their hiring plans with fresh budgets as they head into 2014. If you’re ready to make a change, give Team Ambassador a call. We’ll help you take advantage of the upswing in the hiring market and hopefully find yourself exactly where you want to be, career wise, in 2014! If you are looking for temp agencies, contact us today.