There was good news for job seekers late last week as the Labor Department reported a strong surge in hiring last month. The addition of a seasonally adjusted 287,000 jobs in June represented the most robust growth in eight months, with nearly every sector of the American economy adding to its workforce. And now, CareerBuilder has even better news in its Midyear Job Forecast, projecting that over half of employers will raise wages for current employees, whereas 40 percent will offer higher starting salaries on job offers in the second half of the year.
Better still, HR managers are observing an increasingly competitive talent landscape, which seems to be giving rise to higher wages. This may be particularly true in the Information Technology sector. IT leads the way in industries expected to outperform the national average for full-time, permanent hiring in the second half of 2016.
Indeed, the tech sector is the most in-demand sector when it comes to hiring needs, which might in turn be why the West Coast leads the nation in hiring.
But across the board, things are looking up for job seekers. In the second half of 2016, CareerBuilder says, 50 percent of employers plan to hire full-time, permanent workers, on par with 49 percent last year. Moreover, 29 percent of employers plan to hire part-time employees, on par with 28 percent last year.
“Based on our study, the U.S. job market is not likely to experience any major dips or spikes in hiring over the next six months compared to last year,” said Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder and co-author of The Talent Equation. “While certain industries or locations may produce more job growth, hiring overall will hold steady throughout the election season and through the end of the year.”
Ferguson added, “The majority of employers feel they will now have to pay workers more to attract and retain them because the talent supply is not keeping up with demand.”
Among the most in-demand roles for the second half of 2016 include those that are affiliated with cloud technology, mobile technology, social marketing, app development, e-commerce, digital strategy, and cybersecurity.
So if you’re in the market for a job, you may want to start pivoting in one of these directions before 2016 is out.
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