What will the post-Covid job market look like? The coronavirus pandemic and the government-mandated lockdowns that followed it have had a staggering impact on the job market, it’s tough to know yet. Scores of workers have been laid off and many companies have been forced to operate at reduced capacity.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that since February, which is when the virus started spreading in the country, the unemployment rate has increased by 9.8% and the number of unemployed people in the country has increased by a staggering 15.2 million.
Employment Opportunities in a Post-COVID Market
It’s not all doom and gloom though. As supply chain issues get sorted out, the demand for skilled labor in the manufacturing sector is bound to increase in the coming days.
As of now, employment opportunities are available in several sectors like Logistics, Food Retail, Healthcare, and Insurance. The healthcare sector, in particular, is in need of a large number of skilled workers, as many of the hospitals and long-term care facilities in the country are under-staffed and struggling to respond to the pandemic.
Information Technology seems to be the least disrupted sector, as many companies have allowed their employees to work from home to keep their operations going. The post-Covid job market in the IT sector looks to remain strong.
One of the most notable aspects of a post-coronavirus job market is that employers are very cautious about the talent they hire, as they do not want to invest their resources on people who do not fit the bill. Kane Partners LLC has been working with employers from different industries (information technology, manufacturing, engineering, etc.) to help them find candidates that meet their employment demands and can fit into their work environment and culture.
Long Term Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Job Market
One of the reasons many experts believe that the coronavirus pandemic might change the job market forever is the ease with which many organizations adapted to the ‘new normal’. Employees were allowed to work from home, interviews, meetings, and discussions were conducted online, and physical documents were digitized rapidly.
Now, the question is – what happens when we tide over the crisis? Experts believe that we are unlikely to go back to the ‘old normal’ – which consisted of long commutes, endless hours of in-person meetings, and unnecessary paperwork.
Instead, many employers might decide to continue with the work-from-home experiment, which has paid rich dividends thus far. Twitter, for instance, has stated that employees who wish to work from home can do so from now on. Facebook has stated that nearly 50% of its employees will continue to work from home, even if California’s lockdown restrictions are lifted.
There are a few concerns though. Already, some companies are toying with the idea of adjusting the salaries of their employees who work from home, depending on the cost of living of the area they live in.
Also, many employees – especially those who work in the IT industry – are used to enjoying benefits like free snacks, free lunches, and gym membership. Working from home means missing out on these benefits, which is something that many employees might not be happy with, but they are saving money on gas and saving time without having to commute.
If the work-from-home experiment continues to provide results, many companies, which are paying a king’s ransom for premium office space, might be tempted to relocate to a smaller, more affordable place, as a result of which the demand for commercial real estate might decline to a certain extent.
Irrespective of other factors, the need for skilled employees is likely to increase in the coming days, as the economy is showing signs of recovery and many employers have started hiring again. Kane Partners LLC has been working with employers from different industries as well as candidates from different backgrounds to connect the right employer with the right candidate.
