In a corporate setting where every edge counts in creating leverage over competitors, recruiting strategy plays a crucial role in the success of a company. In the midst of a global pandemic, hiring has changed dramatically and companies are adjusting on the fly.
To better understand recruiting trends and patterns, below is a list of recruiting statistics to help companies, hiring managers, and job seekers.
Table of Contents
COVID-19’s Impact on Recruiting

- The current unemployment rate in the United States in May was 13.3% (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2020)
- It is estimated that around 42% of the recent pandemic-related lay-offs will result in permanent job losses (University of Chicago, 2020)
- The pandemic has caused near-term layoffs to rise to 12.8%, while the new hires equal at 3.8%, or in other terms, three new hires per ten layoffs (University of Chicago, 2020)
- Virtual recruitment has become the most used method in the hiring process (Yello, 2020)
- 60% of workers are confident they can be just as efficient working remotely (Yello, 2020)
- 60% of companies currently have hiring freezes (Meetfrank, 2020)
- Due to the COVID-19, there has been a 135% rise in remote job offerings (Meetfrank, 2020)
- Only 16% of HR professionals in the U.S. are prepared to adapt to a virtual recruiting and hiring process (Doodle, 2020)
- 78% of organizations have changed the volume of recruiting and hiring, the majority of them freezing hiring or slowing (TLNT, 2020)
- Only 5% of organizations reported increasing the volume of new hires (TLNT, 2020)
- Less than 2% of respondents said that COVID-19 has not disrupted their recruiting and hiring operations (TLNT, 2020)
Pre-Pandemic Global Workforce Statistics
- There were 7.9 million job openings in the beginning of 2020 (Money, 2020)
- More than one-third (35%) of the workforce in the U.S. is Millennials. (Pewresearch, 2018)
- The global workforce consists of 70% passive job seekers and 30% active job seekers (Pewresearch, 2018)
- By 2025 Millennials will make up 75% of the global workforce (Deloitte, 2019)
- 86% of companies will invest in intelligence sourcing software (Entelo, 2018)
Recruitment Trends
- Structured interviews are the most frequent (74%) interview technique used by HR professionals (Linkedin, 2019)
- 82% of companies use some form of pre-employment test to assess candidates (SHRM, 2018)
- Work samples and “ability to perform” assessments can give a company up to 55% evaluation of an employee’s performance (Furstperson)
- The three most important trends to the future of recruiting and HR are soft skills (91%), work flexibility (72%), and pay transparency (53%) (Linkedin, 2019)
- 56% of companies offer signing bonuses to new business school hires, the median bonus is $10,500 (GMAC, 2018)
- 80% of respondent say soft skills like creativity, adaptability and collaboration are increasingly vital to company success (Linkedin, 2019)
Recruiting Process Statistics
- The average length of the hiring process is 36 days (SHRM, 2017)
- On average job postings will receive 250 resumes. Of those 4-6 candidates will get an interview (Glassdoor, 2015)
- 77% of recruiters use LinkedIn for recruitment, making it the most used channel (Jobvite, 2018)
- Over 50% of recruiters reach out to candidates via email; the second most used channel is via LinkedIn InMail (Entelo, 2018)
- 77% of professionals want to hear good news by phone, while 66% want to hear bad news by email (Linkedin, 2015)
- If rejected, 94% of professionals want to hear interview feedback (Linkedin, 2015)
Challenges for Recruiters
- The biggest challenge for 76% of recruiters is attracting quality candidates (Cmdrecruitment, 2019)
- 41% of recruiters say entry-level positions are the hardest to fill (Indeed, 2017)
- The average opening sat unfulfilled for 28.1 days (Glassdoor, 2017)
- 17% of recruiters do not know or do not track what their average cost per hire is (Yello, 2020)
- Recruiters on average spend a third of their work week sourcing candidates (Entelo, 2018)
Cost of a Bad Hire
- Nearly three-in-four employers are affected by a poor hire (Careerbuilder, 2017)
- On average, companies lost $14,900 on every bad hire (HRexchangenetwork, 2020)
- Bad hires can result in a 32% drop in employee morale, and a 36% drop in productivity (TheUndercoverRecruiter)
- 89% of recruiters say bad hires typically lack soft skill (Linkedin, 2019)
- The main reason people change jobs is career opportunity (Linkedin, 2015)
Onboarding Statistics
- Great onboarding process can improve new hire retention by 82% and productivity by over 70%(Glassdoor, 2015)
- Only about 1-in-10 employees strongly agree their organization does an excellent job of onboarding new employees (Gallup)
- Negative onboarding experiences make new hires twice as likely to look for other opportunities (Digitate)
Work Culture Statistics
- 84% of recruiters have reported that culture fit has become a key factor when hiring (Cubiks, 2016)
- For 25% of respondents better company culture is the top reason for a job change (Linkedin, 2017)
- Two-thirds of job seekers said that a diverse workforce is important when choosing a company (Glassdoor, 2014)
Recruiting plays a key role in the success of a company. The tools recruiters use can aid or detract from that work. Learn more about the best recruitment software, applicant tracking system, recruiting CRM, video interviewing tool, or candidate sourcing tool.