Many Companies Are Still Hiring, But Geography, Industry and Size Matter

Smaller companies are hiring more than larger ones, which are using the pandemic as a reason to cut costs. Within tech, many are hiring, but they are focused on logistics, virtual learning, video gaming and biotech.

Countries that have done extremely well battling the virus are not necessarily doing as well with employment, which underscores how interconnected the global economy remains. JL

Dean Takahashi reports in Venture Beat:

46% of more than 7,000 companies are still hiring during the pandemic, 21% are laying off workers and 32% have frozen hiring. Within tech, 62% more companies are hiring than firing. 75% more shipping and logistics companies are hiring than firing, 4 times more virtual learning companies, 10 times more video game companies, and 3.7 times more biotech companies. In consumer-facing companies, 10-20% are laying people off. 40% of companies hiring are in the U.S., and 27.7% are laying people off. 60% of  companies hiring have 10 or fewer employees. Larger companies are “rightsizing.”

While 46% of more than 7,000 companies are still hiring during the pandemic, 21% are laying off workers and 32% have frozen hiring, according to a new report on crowdsourced data from Candor, which helps tech workers negotiate salaries. Indeed.com has also come up with new data on job postings.

These reports rely on what employees are reporting about hiring, layoffs, and job freezes, and so they offer a real-time look at the impact of the coronavirus on the economy.

Overall, 42.5% of companies in business-to-consumer (B2C) markets are laying off people, and only 36.6% of companies hiring are B2C. Among industries that have frozen hiring are marketing, advertising, public relations, education, ecommerce, and marketplaces.

Within tech, 62% more companies are hiring than firing, as videoconferencing companies like Zoom have experienced a boom. Across industries, 75% more shipping and logistics companies are hiring than firing, 4 times more virtual learning companies, 10 times more video game companies, and 3.7 times more biotech companies. In general consumer-facing companies, 10-20% of companies are laying people off. Travel and airline companies have taken a big hit, and apparel and footwear companies have had 2.5 times more layoffs than hires.

Indeed reports that postings in software development are down 25.9%, hospitality and tourism openings are down 62.9%, childcare down 52.4%, arts and entertainment down 46.7%, banking and finance down 35.8%, loading and stocking down 34.9%, nursing down 23.7%, and pharmacy postings down 15.3%. Indeed said that March 2020 saw 30.8% fewer job postings than March 2019.

Regional differences

Above: Hiring bright spots.

Image Credit: Candor

About 40% of the companies still hiring are in the U.S., and 27.7% of U.S. companies are laying people off. In the U.K., 41.4% of companies are hiring, while 21.7% are laying workers off.

The Bengaluru region of India has had strong job growth, and 48.1% of companies in the San Francisco Bay Area are still hiring, even as the cities have transitioned to remote work. About one in five companies in Silicon Valley is laying off workers. San Diego, California; Cambridge, Massachusetts; and Paris, France have more companies hiring than instituting freezes or layoffs.

By contrast, only 36.1% of companies in New York are still hiring, as New York City has been especially hard hit by the pandemic. Other places are having a tough time, as well. Only 31.2% of Toronto companies are hiring, and just 29.2% of Houston companies are hiring.

The slowdown has hit worldwide. New Zealand has been praised for its COVID-19 response and relatively few cases, but job postings are dramatically down in the country. On Indeed.com, Australia, the U.K., Canada, and Ireland have all seen postings drop more than 40% as of April 10.

Above: Job posting declines by country.

Image Credit: Indeed

More than 60% of the companies hiring have 10 or fewer employees, and more than 50% of those hiring have 50 people or fewer on staff.

Larger private companies are using the opportunity to “rightsize,” or reduce burn rates and extend runway.

Both private and public sectors are experiencing the same rate of layoffs. But public companies are hiring at a lower rate than private companies, with 42.68% of private companies hiring versus 31.85% of public companies.

Job seeker takeaways

Above: Public and educational companies are hiring less now.

Image Credit: Candor

As mentioned, the data shows that smaller and younger companies are hiring more, while public and educational companies are hiring less. So if you’re looking for a job, your best bet is a small startup that may not be able to offer a large salary but is seeking talent to take on incumbents. Government jobs are also expanding now.

For job seekers, Candor said, “There’s no denying that economies across the world are being turned upside down — and this is undeniably affecting the state of hiring. There is no industry or location untouched by the pandemic, so job seekers have to adapt to the changing times.”

Candor added, “Consider who’s hiring and who’s not, and target your efforts there. Look for industries that have long-term growth potential beyond the pandemic. A company selling face masks might do well in the short term, but companies that are invested in long-term visions with a skew toward tech, health care, or education will be the safest bet.”