November 30 2020
Contingent hiring returns to growth in Q3, and exceeds pre-COVID in Q4, while full-time employment expects slow recovery
SAN FRANCISCO- Magnit (formerly PRO Unlimited), a global innovator of contingent workforce management software and services, today announced the top jobs market trends in the skilled, white-collar contingent (i.e. non-employee, contractor, consultant) landscape in 2020 based on year-over-year company data. Utilizing the company's largest client data sets across hundreds of enterprises and thousands of job titles, Magnit (formerly PRO Unlimited) examined how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted contingent labor hiring across industries, demand in job roles and hot growth markets nationwide.
"There's a strategic shift happening where employers competing in a war for skilled specialty talent have accelerated their adoption of contingent labor - and it's not only "gig" app and blue-collar jobs anymore. In fact, 40% of all white-collar workers fall into this category," said Kevin Akeroyd, CEO of Magnit (formerly PRO Unlimited). "At the same time, business professionals are embracing this type of work. Not only does this new contingent economy offer increased flexibility and high-paying white-collar jobs, but employers benefit from a more diverse talent pool, greater innovation, better fiscal management and much more. By late-2021, we expect over half of skilled workers will be contingent and employers will need to successfully manage this expanding workforce as part of their overall human capital strategy."
Utilizing Magnit's deep industry insights and historical client data, the company compared hiring patterns in the contingent industry that occurred as a result of the COVID pandemic to that of the 2008 Great Recession.
Highlights include:
COVID-19 pandemic impacts contingent hiring harder and faster than the 2008 Recession, but it rebounded much more rapidly:
"The onset of the pandemic in early 2020 and the high amount of uncertainty from an economic perspective sent employers into crisis mode. Many of them announced hiring freezes and layoffs. As such, we saw a decline in contingent hires, but it quickly rebounded and increased higher than pre-pandemic levels. We expect contingent roles will replace many full-time, white-collar jobs going into next year," added Akeroyd.
Demand increased for IT/technology, healthcare and professional services, while manufacturing and industrial positions have dropped significantly:
Hiring of IT analysts, who provide tech support within companies, is up 43%, as is the use of data engineers (31%), IT/tech project managers (23%), marketing managers (18%), clinical pharmacists (18%) and designers (9%).
Jobs on the decline include administrative assistants at 51%, assembly specialists at 69%, and manufacturing associates at 32%.
White-collar gig workers look for the highest monetary bidder in their job searches, while culture and company values are less of a priority
According to a client survey commissioned by Magnit (formerly PRO Unlimited) among contractors, 40% of respondents say monetary compensation is by far the most valued factor in their job search.
Less valued factors include the opportunity to convert to a full-time employee (19%), unique project opportunities or skill-building (14%), and company values/culture (8%).
U.S. cities like Nashville, Charlotte and Indianapolis are emerging as hot growth markets for jobs — in fact, hiring is stronger than it was pre-COVID
About Magnit (formerly PRO Unlimited)
Magnit (formerly PRO Unlimited), through its purely vendor-neutral Managed Services Provider (MSP) and Vendor Management System (VMS) solutions, helps organizations around the world address the costs, risks and quality issues associated with managing a contingent workforce. A pioneer and innovator in the VMS and MSP space, Magnit (formerly PRO Unlimited)offers solutions for the procurement and management of contingent labor, 1099/co-employment risk management, and third-party payroll. http://www.magnitglobal.com