Robust Hiring Suggests U.S. Employers Think the Worst is Behind Us

HOLMDEL, N.J. [November 4, 2019] – U.S. employers accelerated their job openings and hiring activity during the month of October, aligning with the rebound in investor sentiment. Before seasonal adjustments, new hires increased 10.2% and new job openings increased by 14.7%, according to iCIMS’ Monthly Hiring Indicator (MHI). This contrasts with the federal government’s October payroll report, as workers on strike are not paid and therefore do not appear in payrolls.

The MHI is a leading economic indicator published by iCIMS, drawing upon its database of more than 75 million applications and 4 million jobs each year. New hires translate directly into payroll growth, after netting out departures, layoffs and other separations.

“Not only was the impact of the auto workers’ strike on payroll reports much smaller than expected, but the underlying pace of hiring held on and even accelerated,” said Josh Wright, chief economist at iCIMS. “The business community seems to be taking some comfort that trade tensions will not boil over and tip the U.S. into recession.”

October 2019 U.S. New Hires and Openings Highlights:

—   There was an uptick in hires and job openings before seasonal adjustments across all sectors that iCIMS tracks, including education and health services, financial activities, manufacturing, professional business services and retail trade.

—   The most significant increase in hires before seasonal adjustments came in manufacturing (20.9%), which is indicative of the aftershocks of the G.M. strikes as employers ramp up hiring efforts.  

—   Retail saw a notable rise in both job openings (11.2%) and hires (9.5%) before seasonal adjustments, indicating this year’s holiday hiring is now in full swing.

About the iCIMS Monthly Hiring Indicator (MHI) Methodology: 

The iCIMS Monthly Hiring Indicator (MHI) measures job openings and new hires, based on iCIMS system data, which is generated by user activity within our platform. iCIMS processes more than 1 million hires per quarter and 75 million applications per year. While iCIMS supports employers across the globe, the MHI is based on U.S. hiring activity only. The figures present both indexes of hiring activity and their month-over-month percentage change, using a fixed panel of customers. To facilitate comparison with benchmark data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, iCIMS publishes its indexes both with and without seasonal adjustments. Data from the MHI has been referenced by Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, Fox Business and NBC. To learn more about iCIMS’ MHI, visit iCIMS Hiring Insights, where the latest data and details on the methodology are both available for download.