It’s no secret that the past year presented challenges for the job market – both job seekers and employers the like. How did this year compare to other turbulent economic moments in the past? What are the projections for the market and working world in the coming year? Here are a few of our thoughts and findings.
Unemployment Bounce-back
Though the beginning of 2020 saw unemployment rates unseen since the 2008 recession, this year saw much more of an unemployment bounce-back than you might expect. During the recession of 2008, it took 2 years for unemployment to peak and 2.5 years for it to come back down. In 2020, it took 2 months for unemployment to peak and just 4 months to come back. Additionally, in 2008, it took 4 years for job openings to return to pre-recession levels, where job openings were back to 2017 levels (6.6 million) by July.
Filling a Need for Remote Work
Remote roles are expected to double (from 16% – 32% of global work force) in 2021! With the switch to remote work in 2020, projections suggest that the nature of work may look different in the coming years. Remote work has also increased the demand for certain tech jobs. With many employee networks now more broadly dispersed, companies will have an increased need to hire certain innovative technologists to build the necessary infrastructure. Hiring experts project that companies have and will continue to see how remote work widely expands and their talent pools.
Growth Ahead
According to tech database Dice, a post-pandemic world is expecting to see a surge in interest in technologists. We can expect this within start-ups as well, with so many now focusing on technological innovation. Even in a post-pandemic hiring environment, it is expected that many companies and organizations will continue to implement virtual interview processes and onboarding to streamline hiring. According to a Microsoft report from this year, the estimated total of “technology-oriented” jobs would increase from 41 million in 2020 to 190 million in 2025.
What are your thoughts on the tech hiring projections for the coming year?
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