Job openings inch down in Triangle, but now is great time to hire, recruiter says

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK — Businesses need fewer extra workers for holiday jobs this fall, which could indicate that the labor market is weakening, according to an article Monday from the Wall Street Journal.

The “cautious holiday hiring” could be a sign that retailers are treading carefully after economists projected that consumers will “pull back” on holiday spending, writes reporter Austen Hufford.

Hufford references numbers from the outplacement-services firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, which showed that the number of seasonal positions publicly advertised this fall is the lowest in a decade.

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Local hiring trends this holiday

Hiring slowdowns are common during the holidays, says Tricia Lucas, founder of the Triangle-based recruiting and consulting firm Lucas Select. She told TechWire that she expects hiring to slow down this time of year.

“People exercise vacation days to spend time with family,” said Lucas. “That means decision makers aren’t as available to interview candidates, thus slowing down the interview and hiring process.”

But she said that now is a great time for employers to think about hiring.

“Smart and savvy employers with their approved 2024 budgets and headcount will take advantage of this time to recruit now, so they are all staffed up and ready to go January 1st, so they can meet their organization’s revenue and growth goals,” said Lucas.

She said this is especially true for sales teams.

“If you are a Sales VP, then you are recruiting now to have a full headcount for the new year,” said Lucas. “That VP is responsible for that revenue number so if you have a budget for 8, then you don’t want to start 2024 with five.”

But she said it can be tricky to woo away sales candidates who may be waiting on end-of-year performance bonuses.

“If you have a stellar performer, then you may need to provide a sign-on bonus in order to entice someone to transition now,” Lucas said.

Looking at the Job Trends—Numbers from the Nov. 13 jobs report

The exclusive WRAL TechWire Jobs Report aggregates data from 20 location-based job board searches. Job openings in the Triangle fell this week, showing a total of 229,846 active listings (not accounting for post duplications), a 32% fall from this time last year.

Here’s a closer look at the trend: