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October 18, 2017Linium Hiring Index Finds Employers Bullish on Job Growth, Even as Recruiting Challenges Persist in New York’s Capital Region
Capital Region employers remain optimistic they will continue to add jobs, even as they face persistent challenges in finding skilled employees, as well as growing pressure to meet the salary demands of prospective candidates. Those findings are contained in the latest Linium Hiring Index released today by Linium Recruiting, which measured employers’ outlook for the fourth quarter.
Of 101 hiring and human resource managers surveyed between September 19 and October 5, 77 percent said they were very optimistic or optimistic about high-tech job growth over the next year, which matched the figure from the inaugural survey two years ago. And, the number of employers who said they are most successfully recruiting for technology positions from within the region – 64 percent – was the highest since the survey was launched in the fall of 2015.
However, recruiting and hiring for technology positions remains a daunting task for employers: 73 percent described it as either a significant challenge or challenging, which was nearly identical to 75 percent in 2015. The biggest challenge affecting their ability to hire – salary and wage demands – was cited by 36 percent of employers, followed by the skills gap at 23 percent, and corporate finances at 12 percent.
“The silver lining is that Capital Region employers are moving forward with plans to grow, even as they continue to experience difficulties in recruiting skilled employees,” said Miriam Dushane, Managing Director, Upstate New York for Linium Recruiting. “Given the tight labor market and strong pressure on wages, it is clear that companies must act quickly and pay competitively in order to attract and hire the best candidates.”
For the first time, the Linium Hiring Index included a breakout for positions in healthcare, which was identified as the field with the fastest-growing number of opportunities by 29 percent of employers, followed by information technology at 27 percent. Within IT, there has been a significant shift over the past two years: employers naming development positions as the greatest need fell from 58 percent to 35 percent, while demand for both infrastructure and business intelligence jobs increased.
According to the survey, 55 percent of employers expected hiring for technology-based jobs to increase during the fourth quarter, which was slightly higher than both the third quarter (49 percent) and last fall (51 percent).
Survey responses were evenly divided between companies with 200 or fewer employees, and those with more than 200 employees.
Used by HR and hiring managers to help develop strategies to recruit and retain a highly skilled workforce, the Linium Hiring Index gives companies unique insight into the Capital Region’s professional and technology job market. The next index will be released in spring 2018.
