Key Recruiting and Hiring Statistics (Updated for 2022)

There are tons of information online about recruiting and hiring statistics. There’s so much information that it’s easy to get lost in all the data and figures.

Empire Resume has designed this article to provide the most relevant and up-to-date statistics from numerous online sources. The report will present an overall view of hiring and recruiting today.

This article is updated for 2022, but many of the studies conducted by these highly credible sources may have occurred within the last few years. Still, we made sure to include the most recent data and information we could find.

Along with providing the statistics, Empire Resume will also take some time to delve a bit deeper into what they mean and the major trends in hiring and recruiting in 2022 and beyond.

Hiring Data

1. On average, each corporate job in America attracts 250 resumes. Of those candidates, an average of 4 to 6 will get an interview, and only one will get the job. (Glassdoor).
2. It takes an average of 36 days for a company to fill an open position. However, note that the average time to fill substantially differs between industries, type of position, and hiring locations. (SHRM’s Talent Acquisition Benchmarking Report).
3. The average cost-per-hire for companies is $4,700. (Zippia).
4. It takes an average of between 14-30 days for the average employer to make a job offer. (Jobvite Recruiting Benchmark Report).
5. About 47.4 million people quit their jobs in 2021, a phenomenon known as “The Great Resignation.” (CareerPlug).
6. Hospitality workers quit their jobs at the highest rate during The Great Resignation, with about one million such workers quitting in November 2021 alone. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
7. 73% of candidates are “passive” job seekers, meaning they aren’t actively looking for a new position but may jump at an exciting opportunity. (HR Cloud).
8. 75% of the U.S. workforce will be Millennials by 2025. (MRI).
9. 88% of global companies already use artificial intelligence in hiring, recruiting, and HR. (SHRM).
10. 35% of job seekers say they will reject a job offer if their employer doesn’t offer a remote work option. (CareerBuilder).

Recruitment Data

1. Recruiters spend an average of just 7 seconds scanning a resume before deciding whether to call a candidate for an interview. (Ladders Inc.)
2. 40% of companies are planning to make temporary jobs a permanent part of their post-pandemic workforce model. (PeopleReady).
3. 87% of recruiters find LinkedIn the most effective resource for vetting candidates during the hiring process. (Jobvite).
4. More than 98% of Fortune 500 companies utilize an applicant tracking system when hiring new employees. (Jobscan).
5. Almost half (48%) of recruiters say they’re struggling to find enough people to hire and that it’s a significant risk to their business achieving growth targets. (PWC survey).
6. Nearly half of employers automatically reject candidates who haven’t worked in more than 6 months, regardless of the circumstances. (Harvard Business School study).
7. Employee referrals account for 30 to 40 percent of all hires at the average company. (Zippia).
8. 76% of all resumes are ignored if candidates have an unprofessional email address. (TeamStage).
9. The average resume has 489 words. (Zety).
10. 75% of resumes get rejected by applicant tracking systems. This means that only 25% of all resumes get seen by human eyes. (Harvard Business Law).

Employment Data

1. The U.S. unemployment rate rose by 0.2% in August 2022 to 3.7%, and unemployed people increased by 344,000 to 6 million. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
2. There were 132.34 million people in the U.S. who were employed on a full-time basis in August 2022. (Statista).
3. The average workweek for all U.S. private employees decreased by 0.1 hours to 34.5 hours in August of 2022. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.)
4. The median wage for workers in the U.S. in the second quarter of 2022 was about $1,041 per week or $54,132 per year. Wages were 5.2% higher than a year earlier. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
5. About 22% of U.S. workers say they are very or somewhat likely to look for a new job in the next six months, as of July 2022. (Pew Research Center).
6. The number of self-employed people in the U.S. is more than 10 million as of May 2022. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
7. Median wages in the tech industry are 125% higher than median national wages. (CompTIA State of the Tech Workforce).
8. Full-time female managers in the U.S. earned 71 cents for every dollar earned by full-time male managers. (U.S. Census Bureau).
9. Psychiatrists, Surgeons, and Orthodontists earn an average of $208,000 annually, making them among the highest-paying jobs in America. (ZipRecruiter).
10. More than 4.7 million people work remotely at least half of the time in the United States. Yet, 44% of companies don’t allow remote work, and only 16% of companies hire only remote workers. (Owl labs).

The Biggest Hiring Trends of 2022

Some of the statistics we shared offer a glimpse into the biggest hiring, recruiting, and employment trends, but we want to dig a little deeper.

On the hiring front, it appears the labor shortages and Great Resignation of 2021 is losing steam. More workers are returning to the labor force, and the power balance is shifting in employers’ favor. The tight labor market is loosening, and the labor force participation rate is also back to relatively normal.

Government stimulus checks have dried up, inflation is hurting employees’ wallets, and many predict a recession will happen sometime later in 2022, if not in 2023. All these factors are leading to a weaker economy and an increasing number of layoffs, especially in industries like the tech sector. More employees are getting more desperate for work, so the days of passive job searching and having the upper hand in job interviews may end.

One hiring factor that does appear to have staying power, though, is remote and hybrid work. According to the Future of Work report, about 62% of companies planned for a shift to remote and hybrid in 2022. Maintaining flexible work options gives companies the upper hand in getting the best talent, and the remote work arrangements proved effective throughout the pandemic.

Employees value remote and hybrid work and the work/life balance that the arrangement affords, and companies that want to stay competitive – even in a looser job market – will likely continue to offer remote work.

One thing to keep in mind is that not every job can be done remotely and that some companies don’t like remote work. However, companies are being more flexible regarding new perks and benefits, given how crazy life has been since the start of the pandemic, offering perks like onsite childcare and childcare subsidies. Make sure you negotiate well during your next job interview and explore all available options and benefits.

The Biggest Recruiting Trends of 2022

One of the biggest recruiting trends in 2022 is active sourcing, which is the active search for and contact with job candidates in the recruiting process. Instead of posting job advertisements and waiting for candidates to respond, more recruiters are reaching out directly to potential candidates in a targeted manner.

Active sourcing isn’t new, but more companies and recruiters are adopting the method. Whether a candidate is employed, still at university, or not looking for a job, recruiters are reaching out and trying to win them over. This tactic may be gaining in popularity because many job candidates and searchers today are “passive,” meaning they aren’t vigorously looking for a new position, but they’ll consider it if it’s an especially fascinating opportunity.

The good news for workers is that active recruiting means a great opportunity can, quite literally, appear out of nowhere. Many of these active recruiters track candidates online via social media like LinkedIn. It’s in workers’ best interest to create an excellent LinkedIn profile and maintain a professional online presence to attract the best job offers.

The Biggest Employment Trends of 2022

One interesting employment trend that has taken hold is that college graduates are getting older. A study by the Luma Foundation revealed that 39% of college students were older than 25 in 2022. Students are making career decisions at a later age, taking breaks from school to work, and some students are even working full time while finishing their degrees.

In addition, fewer students live on college campuses, meaning the college experience is becoming more of a hybrid model of studying and professional work. Not only that, but because of the rising cost of college tuition, fewer younger adults are even considering going to college in the first place.

All these factors could have a significant impact on employment and the job market in the future. Companies may expect to hire less conventionally trained younger employees, and the value of a four-year college degree may become less in the years ahead. Experience, work ethic, and a good skill set may soon become the new barometer of young employees and hires rather than a degree from a four-year university.

Get an Edge in the Job Market

The critical statistics Empire Resume listed about recruiting, hiring, and employment will give you an overall understanding of the job market in 2022 and beyond. Every statistic we presented, along with the most significant trends, has been gathered from the most credible sources and referenced with a link to the original source of the data.

Knowing what today’s job market looks like, what the major trends are, and what the market could look like soon will give you a competitive edge against a more uninformed job applicant during your search.

Stay tuned to Empire Resume’s blog for more helpful insights into careers and employment, including articles such as The Importance of a Follow-up Letter, Job Hunting During a Recession, and Understanding Recruiting Cycles.

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Maria Gold is a Content Manager/Writer for Empire Resume. She is dedicated to helping educate and motivate people with the latest career articles and job search advice. Her interests range from writing to programming and design. She is also passionate about innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology.

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