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October 2022
Global Talent Trends
Data-driven insights into the changing world of work
In this report, we surface data insights from both LinkedIn’s Economic Graph and our member community to better understand how labor-market trends impact candidates, employees and workplaces.
Trends in hiring
Hiring is leveling off after historic highs.
In a sample of 14 countries, the hiring rate decreased in all of them over the past year.
Methodology: The LinkedIn Hiring Rate (LHR) is the number of LinkedIn members who added a new employer to their profile in the same month the new job began, divided by the total number of LinkedIn members in that country. By only analyzing the timeliest data, we can make month-to-month comparisons and account for any potential lags in members updating their profiles.
* = seasonally adjusted
What LinkedIn Chief Economist Karin Kimbrough says:
This year we are seeing a slower pace of growth, as the economy comes back down to earth after a meteoric rise last year in one of the fastest recoveries we have ever seen.
Nevertheless, labor-market dynamics remain tight. So, in many ways, employees still hold the power to demand more from their employers when it comes to salary, flexibility, and benefits. But this power balance is likely to start leveling out in the coming months.
Amid this uncertain backdrop, we anticipate further deceleration in hiring from the historical highs seen last year.
Karin’s counsel to talent leaders:
Continue to understand the skills your employees have, and the skills your company needs. That understanding will help you weather economic highs and lows, and labor-market volatility.
Trends in workforce confidence
Workers are bracing for an economic downturn.
In eight countries included in our Workforce Confidence Index, candidates’ and employees’ confidence in their ability to improve their financial situation has decreased or remains low.
Point change from January to August 2022 in workers’ confidence to improve their financial situation:
Source: LinkedIn Market Research
Methodology: LinkedIn’s Workforce Confidence Index is based on a quantitative online survey distributed to members via email every day and aggregated every two weeks. On a 5-point scale, we ask members how much they agree or disagree “I feel confident about my ability to improve my financial situation in the next 6 months.” Over 12,000 members respond each wave and are randomly sampled/must be opted into research to participate. Students, stay-at-home partners and retirees are excluded from analysis so we can get an accurate representation of those currently active in the workforce. We analyze data in aggregate and will always respect member privacy. Data is weighted by engagement level to ensure fair representation of various activity levels on the platform. The results represent the world as seen through the lens of LinkedIn’s membership; variances between LinkedIn’s membership and the overall market population are not accounted for.
What LinkedIn Principal Economist Guy Berger says:
The last few years have been full of economic curveballs: the pandemic, an exceptionally fast recovery, supply-chain disruptions, and the highest inflation in four decades. More recently, we’ve seen a sharp slowdown in economic growth in regions across the globe, leaving many unsure of what the future may hold.
Employees are acutely aware of this uncertain environment, too. In the past few years, they’ve been worried about their health, their job security, and their pocketbooks. The uncertainty filters into their lives both personally and professionally.
Guy’s counsel to talent leaders:
You can’t eliminate uncertainty, but you can do your best to mitigate it for your employees.
That may mean doing “more with less” – using scarce resources to support employee morale and confidence in a smart and targeted way. You may see more upside with increased benefits than pay – or vice versa. Consider relatively low-cost, high-value benefits that you might have overlooked before. And don’t underestimate the calm that can follow when you reassure employees that you hear them, and that tough times aren’t forever.
Trends in what candidates value
Candidates consider compensation and benefits their top priority.
Candidates still highly value three priorities that surfaced as a result of the pandemic, according to our Talent Drivers survey: work-life balance, flexible-work arrangements, and upskilling.
How candidates rank their priorities (as of August 2022)
Compensation
Excellent compensation and benefits
Balance
Organizational support to balance work and personal life
Flexibility
Flexible work arrangements (i.e. when and where you work)
Upskilling
Opportunities to learn new, highly desired skills
5. Advancement
Opportunities for career growth within the company
6. Impact
Challenging and impactful work
7. Job Security
8. Happiness
Happy and inspired employees
9. Management
Helpful and supportive direct managers
10. Innovation
Opportunity to work on innovative projects
11. Leadership
Clear goals and direction from senior leadership
12. Culture
A collaborative company culture
13. Mission
Company driven by values that match your own
14. Diversity
Inclusive workplace for people of diverse backgrounds
15. Talent
Highly talented employees
Source: LinkedIn Market Research
Methodology: Candidate priorities are based on LinkedIn's Talent Drivers monthly survey of global members.
Candidates increasingly want remote work – even as employers scale back on remote-job postings.
US remote-job postings on LinkedIn reached an all-time high in February 2022, at 20% of all US jobs — yet they attracted over 50% of all applications.
By September, remote-job posts fell to 14% of all posts, but got 52% of all US applications.
While the U.S. leads this trend globally, remote jobs are also popular around the world.
Remote job posts vs applications, September 2022
Methodology: This insight is based on LinkedIn’s paid job posts globally over the past 12 months.
What LinkedIn VP of Global Talent Acquisition Jennifer Shappley says:
People are looking for stability amidst the economic volatility we live in and read about daily, so it makes sense that candidates are prioritizing compensation as they evaluate opportunities.
More interesting to me is that, even facing an uncertain future, people still highly value two areas of work life that have gotten a lot of attention since the start of the pandemic: work-life balance, and flexible-work arrangements – including remote work. I expect those two attributes to remain top talent drivers for years to come.
Jennifer’s counsel to talent leaders:
These days candidates are looking for companies that will value their whole selves and provide support in achieving work-life balance.
As talent leaders, we need to be prepared to speak to candidates about what our organizations value and how we support our employees. And this isn’t just a hiring strategy – it’s key to ensuring we retain our best talent, as well. Understanding these drivers and listening to our employees have never been more important in ensuring we’re building hiring and retention strategies that attract and retain top talent.
Trends in employee growth and transformation
Internal mobility increases employee retention.
Employees who make an internal move are more likely to stay at their organization longer than those who stay in the same role.
- Industry Highlights
- Regional Highlights
Financial Services ranks #1 in retaining employees through internal mobility.
Of the 15 industries we analyzed, Financial Services companies saw the biggest improvement in employee retention among internal movers at the 3-year mark.
Retail is struggling with employee retention, with or without internal mobility.
Retail companies had the least likelihood of retention at the 3-year mark – even with employees who had moved internally.
Internal mobility feeds employee retention in Australia, U.K., and Singapore.
Companies in these three countries saw the biggest improvement in employee retention among internal movers at the 3-year mark.
India and Japan have high employee retention – but internal mobility doesn’t make a big difference.
At the 3-year mark, India had the highest retention rate without high internal mobility. Japan was a close second.
France’s employee retention is low.
Of the 15 countries we analyzed, France had the lowest retention rate at the 3-year mark, regardless of options for internal mobility.
Methodology: All data reflects aggregated LinkedIn member activity as of August 2022. The “likelihood of the average employee remaining at the company” is derived using time-to-event data. For this estimate, we studied the employment data of active members who work for companies with 200+ employees and started after 2013.
What LinkedIn VP of Talent Development Linda Jingfang Cai says:
We know people want to learn and grow at work, regardless of economic and market conditions. This almost always translates to employees asking themselves and their managers, “How can I do a better job so that I can get paid more, promoted, or land my next dream role?” Our new data insights show us that, even with some industry and regional nuances, if companies leave those questions unanswered, in most cases, people will leave the moment they find a better opportunity elsewhere.
I often think what gets lost in conversations about providing learning and growth opportunities that will help retain employees is: What do your employees want? And this may vary depending on the job functions and demographics. Just as businesses need new skills, employees need to discover their career possibilities and change, too.
Linda’s counsel to talent leaders:
Give employees more ownership over their career paths at your company. Start the conversation with them on their possibilities for learning, growth, and – ultimately – internal career transformation on Day 1.
Explore the translated Global Talent Trends reports.
Questions? Comments? Feedback? Feel free to reach out to the report’s editor, Kris Kitto.
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