What will the future of hiring look like post COVID-19?
That’s the multi-billion dollar question that hiring and acquisition managers have been wondering since this pandemic began.
While nobody is certain what the future of hiring will entail, we asked our top recruiting experts to outline three possible scenarios of what COULD happen in the next few months to the hiring process.
Scenario #1 Slow Recovery
In this scenario, the economy would continue to pick back up, with the unemployment rate falling lower and lower each month, eventually reaching single digits before summer is over. This scenario is ideal for hiring managers, as it gives them time to slowly build their team back up again, day-by-day.
Scenario #2 Mad Rush for Employment
The second scenario is very similar to the first, but with a faster timeline. For the last few months, unemployed Americans were able to collect an additional $600 in federal unemployment benefits through the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES) in addition to what they collected on the state level, which averages around $378 a person. When you compare that to the median income for a full-time employee on a weekly average, you get $936. The point of all this math is to statistically show that the average American is making more money being unemployed vs. working.
After the extra $600 of benefits ended on July 31st, the unemployment rate did decrease, but only slightly. While details are still being ironed out regarding the next round of unemployment benefits, it’s likely to expect a surge of Americans returning to the workforce over the next few months.
Scenario #3 Back to Lockdown
In the worst-case scenario, we return to lockdown status. With a growing number of COVID-19 cases, it’s completely possible that our economy could return to shutdown mode again, especially with rising infection and death rates. At the time of writing this, the U.S. is getting very close to 6 Million COVID-19 cases with no signs of slowing down according to data from John Hopkins University.
For the sake of us all, we’re really, really, really hoping scenario #3 doesn’t become a reality.
While we can’t accurately predict the future, our sincere hope (and anticipation) is that the economy WILL get better sooner than later.
Curious for a deeper dive into the future? Check out our latest ebook, How to Hire Post COVID-19 for practical insights, trends, best practices, and a few predictions from our team of experts to help you navigate these uncharted waters and meet the upcoming hiring demand for permanent, temporary/consultant and executive employment.
