Organizations that have had to let people go for organizations such as Google, Microsoft, and Amazon impacted roughly 40,000 employees.
In comparison to other years, one recruiter, Atta Tarki, who founded a specialized executive search and project-based staffing firm known as ECA partners offered their take on analyzing the labor market statistics and other variables.
From a historical outlook, layoffs in 2023 have been low in comparison to other years which translates to the labor market being tight and a challenge for some.
What makes this market favorable to employees is The Bureau of Labor Statistics has researched and tracked the labor force being laid off since 2000 which means about 1.5 percent of the non-farm private labor force is let go from their job.
Should that number approach 2.0 percent or higher, then Tarki says it would be an employer’s market and if the number is close to 1.0, it would be a candidate’s market or a tight labor market.
In 2022, there was an expansion of 2.5 million workers from Appcast’s “Recruitment Marketing Benchmark Report” which assessed the macroeconomics of the labor market and recruitment metrics.
It was more cost-effective to find and hire candidates in 2022 and receive an abundance of applications according to the report.
“There are glimmers of hope, especially when looking at decreased recruiting costs, but 2023 will be another year of uphill struggles for recruiters working to attract and retain employees in this highly-competitive labor market,” said Heather Salerno, chief marketing officer at Appcast.
