Are you looking for a new job, or filling recruiter positions? Being on either end of the spectrum, it may be useful to know what the labor markets are like in North America. We used WANTED Analytics hiring demand and talent supply data to analyze and compare hiring trends for recruiters in the U.S. and Canada.
Over the past 30 days, the number of job ads posted online for recruiters in the U.S. and Canada increased. The U.S. has experienced rising recruiter demand for the past four years. However, in Canada, this recent trend marks the first month of relative growth since January 2014.
According to WANTED Analytics, in the U.S., there were 8.5 percent more job ads posted online in August 2014 compared to August 2013. Canada had 21.7 percent more ads during the same time period. In both countries, recruiters comprise a similar percentage of HR demand. Currently, recruiters account for 15 percent of HR job ads in the States and 12.5 percent in Canadian provinces and territories.
Where did recruiter demand increase? While New York had the highest number of job ads posted online during the past month in the U.S., Miami had the greatest percentage increase in demand (+37 percent). As for Canada, Toronto had the most demand and Edmonton had the largest growth (+150 percent.) Recruiters in the U.S. were most commonly required in the professional, scientific, and technical services sector, particularly in the computer systems design services industry. Amazon, Total Quality Logistics, and PricewaterhouseCoopers were the companies with the most demand in the U.S., while Cellflare, JV Driver, and Capital One had the most demand in Canada. Unlike the U.S., mining and wholesale trade had the highest number of job ads in Canada.
Employers in the U.S. and Canada required candidates to have ATS, Oracle HRIS, and technical recruiting skills. In Canada, however, bilingual, particularly French speaking skills, were more prominent in job ads.
Considering supply and demand, employers in the U.S. face more pressure. There are 24 candidates for every unique job ad posted online in the U.S. and 57 per ad in Canada. There’s even more market pressure in some areas that have a higher number of job ads. In Chicago and Washington D.C., two U.S. cities with high demand, there are only 12 candidates per ad. Of the cities with the most demand in Canada, Edmonton has the lowest number of candidates per ad, 24.
Number of Employed Recruiters in the Workforce for Each Job Ad
(Based on National Household Survey of Statistics Canada, the Occupational Employment Survey of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the WANTED database.)
Despite differing volumes of job ads and talent pools, hiring is likely to be difficult in both North American countries. According to WANTED Analytics’ Hiring Scale, which considers multiple factors to determine likely recruiting difficulty on a scale of 1 to 99 (with 99 meaning hardest-to-fill,) the U.S. scores a 74 and Canada scores a 78. Hiring will be slightly more difficult in Canada than in the U.S. Recruiting is likely to be even more difficult in areas with higher demand. For instance, Toronto scores an 83, and San Francisco, which ranks fourth on the list of cities with the most demand, scores a 92, both indicating very challenging recruiting conditions.
Hiring Scale Heat Map – Recruiters in the U.S. and Canada
Even though recruiting is likely to be challenging in both countries, there are still locations that offer favorable conditions. Recruiters can ease hiring difficulty by sourcing talent or relocating candidates from locations with lower Hiring Scale scores, meaning less-challenging recruiting conditions. In Canada, Ottawa has a lower Hiring Scale score because of a larger candidate supply and fewer job ads. Similarly, in the U.S., Little Rock, Arkansas, scores an 11, the lowest of the metropolitan areas in the U.S. that are currently seeking recruiters. In this area, the current candidate supply exceeds local demand.