There’s a ton of stats out there on hiring trends, unemployment rates, job growth projections, and so on. It can be overwhelming—even for someone paid to read the BLS reports. 

So as my holiday gift, I’ve compiled the top 22 labor stats and trends you should know for 2022.

Now Hiring Wrap Up

1. Employment is projected to increase by 11.9 million jobs from 2020 to 2030

2. Employment in the leisure and hospitality sector is projected to increase the fastest

3. Healthcare and social assistance will add the most jobs by 2030 (accounting for 7 of the 30 fastest-growing occupations)

4. Projected robust growth for industries in which employment fell in 2020

5. The top three fastest-growing industries include Healthcare, Energy, Tech & Data Science

6. Motion picture projectionists are the fastest-growing occupation

7. Wind and solar-powered jobs expected to be among the top five fastest-growing jobs

8. Information security and IT jobs are expected to rise by over 30% as IoT continues to ramp up 

(Stats brought to you by BLS, learn more here.) 

Unemployment Stats to Note 

9. Unemployment currently sits at 4.2%, and the number of unemployed persons fell by 542,000

10. Long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks) is at 2.2 million

11. The mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction industry had the highest unemployment rate

12. Nevada and California have the highest unemployment rates in the U.S at 7.3%

13. Nebraska has the lowest unemployment rate in the U.S at 1.9%

14. Retail trade is projected to lose 586,800 jobs over the 2020–30 decade as demand for brick and mortar establishments declines

15. The fastest declining occupations include word processors, typists, parking enforcement workers, and nuclear power reactor operators 

(Stats brought to you by BLS, learn more here.) 

The #New Labor Trends to Prep For 

16. The number of people aged 75+ working will grow 96.5% by 2030

17. The labor force of people ages 16 to 24 is projected to shrink by 7.5%

18. The rate for people ages 25 to 54 is projected to hold steady

19. By 2030, all baby boomers will be at least 65 years old

20. Workers expect more pay and better benefits (24 states are raising the minimum wage)

21. Workforce flexibility isn’t going away, with 72% of respondents opting for hybrid or remote options and people reprioritizing work-life expectations and balances 

22. Recruitment marketing data and people analytics are no longer nice to have but a must-have

(Stats brought to you by BLS, learn more here.)

What does it all mean? 

That’s a lot of information. And if you’re looking to hire right now, it can be hard even to know what to do with that info. 

So here’s the bottom line: We know it’s a worker economy and that people are simply not showing up for interviews and are now ghosting recruiters (doesn’t feel great, huh?).  

How do you step out of the 2021 Great Resignation rut and get to the sweet side of the Great Rehire? 

To flex with the evolving worker economy, you will need to: 

• Adapt to present-day working conditions and expectations 
• Extend a hand to workforce newbies and re-entries as they figure out the workforce 
• Say hello to the new (kinds of) candidates who have completely new expectations 

As we navigate the Great Rehire, we have the potential to revolutionize our recruitment strategies and turn the tide for an amazing comeback. What brings more organizational joy  than empowering people to love what they do and where they work?”

To dig into these and learn steps on how to get back to hiring, check out “The Great Rehire and Beyond: Your Ultimate Guide to Recruitment Marketing for the New Talent Landscape.”