Local hiring index shows new optimism

As vaccine is deployed, businesses see a need to expand workforce

Although the coronavirus appears to be rearing its ugly head again, Capital Region human resource managers are much more optimistic about hiring new employees in the coming year than they were in the spring, when the pandemic forced the first wave of business closures and lockdowns.

Those are the findings of the latest hiring survey done by Alaant Workforce Solutions, the Colonie-based employment search firm.

Miriam Dushane, managing partner of Alaant, said while the survey showed growing optimism among employers as the first COVID -19 vaccine was administered in New York state on Monday, it also reveals the profound strain the local businesses are under — even those that have recovered better than others.

“This is like nothing we’ve ever been through before,” Dushane said.

The Fall 2020 Alaant Hiring Index, found that 54 percent of businesses were planning to make new hires in the next six months, with health care and information technology positions leading the way.

Asked about their overall expectations for 2021, 61 percent said they were optimistic about their need to hire new employees, compared to just 42 percent for the last survey done in May.

“While the pandemic is not yet over, it’s clear that employers see light at the end of the tunnel,” Dushane said. “We’ve seen

an uptick in hiring this month, which is consistent with the optimism employers are expressing for the new year.”

Dushane added that despite the historic unemployment that has hit New York since the pandemic lockdown measures ordered by the state in March, workers have the advantage in the current job market.

That’s because qualified and experienced workers who may have previously been hunting for a job in the past are staying put, fearing the uncertainty of the economy and the pandemic, which is likely to still be a major public health concern for much of 2021. That’s because it will take so long to deploy vaccines to enough people to create herd immunity. There is also a fear that the virus could mutate or that the public will not embrace the vaccines due to fears of their safety since they were approved by federal regulators in record time.

Dushane said businesses have assumed that hiring would be easy due to widespread unemployment. But the most qualified job candidates in professional services, health care and technology firms are much more risk adverse now and are not looking to make a change amid so much uncertainty.

Dushane said that while that dynamic should change as the pandemic subsides, the virus has definitely changed the workplace for good in some ways. The survey found 57 percent of businesses are considering hiring remote workers — a record number.

How companies approach their real estate needs is also evolving rapidly after executives realized productivity levels don’t drop, and in some cases rise, when employees work from home. Dushane said that will likely mean some businesses will shrink their office space or move into co-working spaces that are cheaper.

“I think that’s going to change a lot,” Dushane said.