Jobless Rate Drops Again, Talent Market Tightens in Delaware Valley

November 6th, 2017 by ifi-admin

Delaware Valley Jobless Rate and Employment statistics depicted by businessman reading a chartNews from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) last week shows little relief for employers engaged in the talent war in the Philadelphia-Southern New Jersey-Wilmington area. In the Delaware Valley, the jobless rate has decreased .5% from August to September (from 5.1 to 4.6%), for a .9% overall drop in the jobless rate year over year.

Meanwhile, compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.7 percent for the 3-month period ending in September 2017. Wages and salaries (which make up about 70 percent of compensation costs) increased 0.7 percent, and benefits (which make up the remaining 30 percent of compensation) increased 0.8 percent. Overall, that adds up to a 2.5 percent hike in compensation costs for the last 12 month period.

This continues the Delaware Valley trend for a tight talent market, and nowhere are companies feeling it as keenly as within the tech sector.

At the same time, software developers and information security analyst positions represent two of the fastest growing occupations in the BLS’s 10-year projection. Software and application developer jobs are expected to grow by 30% by 2026 and represent 253,400 new jobs with a median salary of $100,080. Information security analyst roles are projected to grow by 28% with a median salary of $92,600.

Ensuring Your Employment Offer Is Accepted – It’s About More Than Salary

While many employers struggle to keep staffing levels up to par, competition in compensation exacerbates recruitment efforts. Through working closely with our candidates, Phoenix Partners knows that while companies need to ensure their salaries are commensurate with peer companies in the industry, candidates are often looking for less tangible items in an offer as well.

For example, the following factors enhance the likelihood of a candidate accepting an offer:

Growth Opportunity – Seeking New Challenges

Be sure to communicate the opportunity for growth in an open position. Candidates care about opportunity and will often make a move to seek new challenges. Be prepared to discuss pathways to new roles beyond the immediate position.

Embracing Technology

If you have a plan to improve your technological infrastructure, be sure to outline it and relate the open position to the ultimate goals. Let candidates know of opportunities to advance their skills such as learning new programming languages.

Company Culture

It’s hard for candidates to identify your company culture from afar. Interviews are an opportunity to do so through tours, meetings, introductions, and discussions about what it’s like to work with your company. Culture is very important to candidates, far more so than in the past.

Commute

While you don’t have direct control over what kind of commute a prospective candidate might face and the impact on their decision to accept or decline, remember that this is an important aspect of lifestyle. If your company offers commuting incentives or flex time, be sure to share the details to address the issue.

Do you need help attracting talented technical candidates in this tight market? Talk to us about your open positions.