CareerBuilder, a global leader in HR technology, released the findings of its annual study, which revealed that 40 percent of employers plan to hire full-time, permanent employees in 2019, and 47 percent plan to recruit part-time workers. Hiring for full-time employees and part-time or contract workers is on par with the 2018 report, which was 44 percent and 51 percent last year, respectively.

There is demand for full-time workers, as 50 percent of human resource managers say they currently have open positions for which they cannot find qualified candidates. However, there are candidates ready to take on those roles. Across all skills levels, 32 percent of workers are looking to change jobs in 2019. When asked why they left their last job, employees cited low compensation or a lack of benefits (15 percent) and poor company culture (10 percent) as the reason for leaving.

"The employment outlook is positive with 40 percent of employers looking to hire full-time, permanent employees. While a skills gap has created an environment where employers are having trouble finding qualified talent, employees' and companies' mutual dedication towards competency-based training indicates we have made leaps and bounds toward eliminating these obstacles; we've found that 59 percent of employers plan to train and hire workers who may not be 100 percent qualified but have potential," said Irina Novoselsky, CEO of CareerBuilder. "Technological innovation will continue to be a driving force in defining the labor market for both in demand jobs and how companies recruit for open roles. At CareerBuilder, we're excited to be at the forefront of developing technologies to streamline the hiring process and make finding the right candidates more effective and efficient."

The national surveys, which were conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder from December 20, 2018 to January 16, 2019, included representative samples of 1,021 hiring managers and human resource managers and 1,010 full-time U.S. workers across industries and company sizes in the private sector.

Employment and Hiring Trends to Watch in 2019

Candidates' soft skills are increasingly important when applying to jobs. Ninety-two percent of employers say soft skills, including interpersonal skills, communication abilities, and critical thinking, will be important in determining whether they will hire candidates. Eighty percent also said that soft skills would be equally or more important than hard skills when hiring candidates, since specific technical skills are necessary for some jobs. The top skills that employers will be hiring for in 2019 are the ability to be team-oriented (51 percent), attention to detail (49 percent), and customer service (46 percent).

Opportunities for job seekers are available year-round. Fifty-one percent of hiring managers recruit throughout the calendar year for positions that may open up later on. Of those who continuously recruit, 55 percent say this reduces their time-to-hire and 42 percent share it reduces cost-per-hire.

Companies and job seekers are willing to invest in tech training. Fifty-five percent of employers believe that, on average, 50 percent or more of all jobs include tech requirements, and 56 percent have paid for employees to get skills-based training outside the office, so they can move up to a higher-skill job within their organization. However, 66 percent of employees say their company does not offer educational opportunities or workshops outside of work hours to teach them new skills they could use in their jobs. Of those employees, 73 percent say they would be somewhat or extremely likely to participate if such opportunities were offered.

Convenience and culture may be more important than compensation. Employees cite factors like location (56 percent), affordable benefits plans (55 percent), job stability (55 percent), a good boss (48 percent), and good work culture (44 percent) as more important than salary when considering a position.

Compensation is on the rise. Twenty-nine percent of employers expect the average increase in salaries for existing employees to be five percent or more in 2019 compared to 2018.  

Recruiting Trends to Watch for 2019

The job seeker experience is paramount: HR managers (36 percent) cite improved user experiences for candidates, employees, and hiring managers as a top priority for recruitment and HR management going into 2019.

Efficiency is critical: HR managers also say helping recruiters to be more efficient in filling roles faster with higher quality candidates (29 percent) and expediting background checks (24 percent) are seen as top priorities for recruitment and HR management going into 2019.

Streamlined communication: Twenty-two percent of HR managers believe technology will be most beneficial in helping manage and maintain regular communication with job candidates during the application process. To simplify the process, CareerBuilder's new TD Companion App enables hiring managers to communicate directly with candidates through text message and email.

Speak the same language: Recruiters speak one language and candidates speak another; it's no wonder 39 percent of HR managers say technology would be most beneficial in helping with sorting through applicants to identify top candidates and remove candidates that are not qualified. CareerBuilder has crossed the language barrier with the use of AI and semantic search to halve the applicant to hire ratio.

Perfecting the process: Bad hires can negatively affect companies, and the main ways they impacted employers' businesses last year were less productivity (28 percent), they negatively impacted employee morale (25 percent), and they drove up costs for recruiting and training other workers (24 percent). Additionally, employers who have had a bad hire affect their business in the past year estimate the average cost of a bad hire is more than $18,700.

Top Areas for Hiring in 2019

As new technologies are constantly introduced, legacy industries are being transformed and the need for workers with specialized, high-tech capabilities is on the rise.

In Demand Areas for Hiring

Jobs tied to skilled labor: 25 percent

Jobs tied to data analysis: 21 percent

Jobs tied to digital marketing: 12 percent

Jobs tied to cyber security: 11 percent

Jobs tied to AI and machine learning: 10 percent

Jobs tied to healthy living: 10 percent

Hiring by Region: Where Employers Are Hiring Full-Time, Permanent Employees

West: 44 percent

South: 42 percent

Northeast: 37 percent

Midwest: 35 percent