Unemployment Expected To Slightly Grow, But The Job Market Remains Hot

Despite rising inflation, unemployment rates have remained relatively stagnant as labor demand continues to climb. 

Despite unemployment reaching record-low levels in August, an informal survey from Forbes Advisor shows that 63% of CEOs still believe that unemployment will slightly grow in the last quarter of the year. 

“Inflation is hitting businesses due to higher input costs, energy costs, raw materials and supply chain barriers, which are adding burden on organizations,” said Indu Tyagi, chief strategy officer at Market Research Future. “According to our predictions, unemployment may rise to 3.8% in the fourth quarter.”   

Still, the labor market remains incredibly tight, meaning any incremental growth in unemployment will do little to impact the overall workforce.  

Now more than ever, companies are holding onto their top talent, particularly as the Great Resignation shows little sign of letting up.

On one hand, major companies like Goldman Sachs have made their intentions of layoffs clear, while service industry companies can’t seem to keep up with consumer demand.  

In essence, today’s economic environment is impacting white-collar workers, while the pandemic mostly impacted blue-collar workers. 

“There are two jobs for every person looking for work right now, and I don’t see that changing abruptly unless something wholly unpredictable happens,” said Anthony Reynolds, CEO of HireVue.   

Because of the wide availability of jobs, workers continue to have the upper hand when it comes to their workplace preferences. As a result, leaders are having to move forward with adopting new strategies, policies and technology that attract and retain workers.