Managers looking to hire hourly workers are seeing continued improvement in the summer job market, especially for teens seeking work, according to a survey by consultancy Snagajob.
Richmond, Va.-based Snagajob also found that hiring is occurring earlier in the season.
“There’s been pick up in the job market lately,” Shawn Boyer, chief executive of Snagajob, said.
He noted that the U.S. economy has added about 200,000 jobs in each of the past three months.
“[The survey] shows improving employer confidence because of hiring levels [that are] steady with or incrementally better than last year, a tendency to hire earlier and the belief that teens will handle more of the summer job market versus more experienced workers,” Boyer said.
Industries represented in Snagajob’s fifth annual survey of 1,073 hourly hiring managers responsible for hiring summer employees paid by the hour included restaurants, hospitality, retail, customer service, office/business and construction.
The survey, conducted by third-party research firm Ipsos Public Affairs from Feb. 22 to Feb. 27, yielded the following conclusions:
Hiring levels improved: Three in 10 hiring managers expect to hire the same as last year, an improvement of three percentage points over last year. Similar to last year, one in 10 hiring managers expects to hire more staff.
Hiring is occurring earlier: Hiring managers with an intention to hire summer employees will be doing so on an earlier timetable. Thirteen percent filled their positions in February (up 1 percentage point), and 11 percent will complete their hiring in March (up 2 percentage points). About 23 percent will finish hiring by the end of April.
Competition returning to normal: Over the past four years, the Snagajob survey showed a decline in the number of hiring managers believing that the greatest competition a teen or college student would face for a summer job would be from someone like themselves. That changed this year, with 57 percent of hiring managers saying peers would provide the biggest competition, an increase of six percentage points from last year’s survey.
Wages remain flat: Hiring managers with plans to hire expect to pay an average of $10.90 per hour, statistically unchanged from last year.
“With less competition from older workers anticipated wages are expected to be flat,” Boyer said. “However, teens who want a job should be aggressive and start looking as soon as possible.”
Also consistent with previous years is that hiring managers will depend on employees who have worked for them in previous summers. Of those surveyed, managers said 65 percent of summer staff will be returning workers, a number that has held steady during the five years of the study.
Snagajob, founded in 2000, provides sourcing and talent management for hourly workers and employers.
Contact Ron Ruggless at [email protected].
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