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COVID & Unemployment

Hiring? You might need more HR employees first.

Kristin Schwab Jun 25, 2021
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HR job postings are up 47% since before the pandemic, according to job data from Indeed. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
COVID & Unemployment

Hiring? You might need more HR employees first.

Kristin Schwab Jun 25, 2021
Heard on:
HR job postings are up 47% since before the pandemic, according to job data from Indeed. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
HTML EMBED:
COPY

One sign of the back-to-work economy: HR job postings are up about 47% since before the pandemic, according to recent job data from Indeed.

Before companies can replenish their workforces, they need to replenish the workers in charge of replenishing their workforces.

“Lots of companies got rid of a lot of their recruiters, which seems strange when you think about it, because we knew this was going to end,” said Peter Cappelli, a professor of management and director of the Center for Human Resources at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

The Indeed data shows HR job postings have increased more than other industries, including retail and restaurants — 15% in May alone.

When the job market is tight, companies need the people behind recruiting even more, Cappelli said. “You need somebody to sober up and tell them, ‘You won’t get those people at the wages that you can pay, so let’s be realistic.'”

Companies are also dealing with big changes to how we work.

“You have OSHA rules, you have state rules, you may have city rules and you have, how do you deal with people who are vaccinated and not vaccinated?” said Barb Holland with the Society for Human Resource Management.

She thinks the demand for HR professionals will keep rising as more offices reopen.

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