7.5 million Americans are currently out of work. The unemployment rate in America as of February of 2017 stood at 4.7% according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The question always is how do we generate more jobs and continue to reduce the rate of those unemployed.
IT staffing companies are one of the contributing factors to the decline in unemployment. Per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Employment in professional and business services continued to trend up in February (+37,000).” So how do IT staffing companies contribute to this? In 4 major ways, passive job placement, reducing time spent on unemployment, creating new opportunities, and generate new full-time positions.
Passive Job Placement
There were 522,000 discouraged workers in February. Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for a job because they believe no jobs are available to them. IT staffing companies are combating this number by actively looking for those who are not looking. When individuals become disheartened in their search for work they often give up. Staffing firms can explain gaps in work, inconsistent job titles and a change in industry to hiring managers. One of the biggest problems with those who have been unable to find work is explaining to the resume reviewer as to why they have not been working. By having direct contact with those reviewing resumes staffing firms can get discouraged workers to work.
Reducing Time Spent on Unemployment
With 7.5 million Americans without any work and becoming more pessimistic, there must be a change in the type of hiring being done. Staffing companies are trying to change the narrative. Instead of focusing on individuals working in permanent positions IT staffing companies are providing people with contract work. Contract work is not a granted long-term solution, but it does decrease the number of Americans without work. In a ‘gig’ economy these positions are becoming more prominent and in high demand. Often companies do not have the time or resources to find contractors for a 3-month position, so they turn to IT staffing firms. Staffing agencies from there look for individuals who have been laid off, who have just ended a contract, or who have been out of work to fill the positions.
Creating New Opportunities
With the increases in project-based work, staffing firms can create jobs that were not previously available. An employee gets hired into a project, and the staffing firm follows up with the employee and hiring manager around week one to two. Staffing firms often make recommendations to the hiring manager based on the feedback they receive from the employee. Often it takes roughly one week into a project based position to understand the full scope of the project. Those without industry knowledge often underestimate the workload. Once a recruiting firm has placed an employee they have both the industry experience and insight to know when a project requires additional employees and are in a position to make recommendations to the company.
Generate Full-Time Positions
5.7 million American are currently working part time as of February 2017. These individuals are sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers, as they would have preferred full-time employment. Staffing companies place part-time temp employees frequently; we find that a good portion of those in part time, temp jobs transition into full-time positions within a year or less. The transition from part time to full time is due to the uncovering of unanticipated needs on the part of the client. This trend is promising for both the unemployment rate as well as those who are involuntary part-time workers.
Though IT staffing companies are not making a significant impact on the level of unemployment they are reducing the unemployment rate one job at a time. Staffing firms are in the business of people. As part of that business, it is the responsibility of staffing firms to continue to ensure the success of their communities.
If you find yourself without a job and are starting to feel discouraged, please try one of our free consultations. Our knowledgeable staff is here as a resource, to those looking for work, and those looking to make a career shift.
