top of page
Writer's pictureBrian Marr

RedBalloon Special Report: US Talent & Labor Market Week in Review


US may be near full employment: Labor Force Participation is at 20-year-high


According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the employment to population ratio is higher than it has been for twenty years for prime working age adults (ages 25 to 54). Additionally, the civilian labor force participation rate continues to inch upwards and is now at 62.6%.



What does this mean for employers? There aren’t that many unemployed people who still need a job. Yet, according to the BLS, there are over 10 million job openings in America–nearly 2 openings for every single unemployed worker.


Competition for talent is only going to become more difficult. That includes finding new talent and retaining the talent you already have. Pressure to increase wages will also continue.


Simply, the labor market has changed. Those who are following the same-old routines will be left behind.


Employers want workers back in the office


In the tug-o-war between employers and employees over remote work, Salesforce just came up with a new way of luring workers back to the office: charity donations for in-office visits. Every day an employee comes into the office from June 12 to June 23, the company will donate $10 to a local charity.


This is more proof that the struggle to bring workers back into the office continues. Workers prefer the independence of working from home, while employers want more oversight and in-person meetings. For smaller businesses struggling to hire, posting remote positions may be a way of luring workers away from larger companies.


The High Cost of Being Woke


A recent Wall Street Journal article highlights how c-suites are waking up to the negative impacts of woke virtue signaling. For instance, the CEO of PPG Industries organized meetings for his company to create plans and backup plans for polarizing political topics that disrupt business.


“We run a business. We don’t run a political organization. We don’t run a religious organization, and we don’t run a social organization,” the CEO said. “However, [we] recognize that we operate in a society. We hire employees with opinions and views. We work with customers that have opinions and views. So we have to take all that into account.”


Companies used to fear the left exclusively, but after Target and Bud Light experienced strong backlash from their customers, companies are starting to realize that wokeness is a two-edged sword.


Bob Parsons, founder of Parsons Xtreme Golf, speaks for many businesses in his desire to avoid politics: “Both Republicans and Democrats—far left, far right—all buy golf clubs. Why hit the beehive with a stick?”





Thousands of Companies are Finding Success at RedBalloon.work


Employers who are tired of struggling to find qualified, reliable talent are saving time and money at RedBalloon.work, where we start with candidates who have a strong work ethic and are values-aligned. We don’t flood businesses with hundreds of resumes that cost them time and money, often without results. As one RedBalloon customer recently remarked, “The hardest part of using RedBalloon was that I received seventeen resumes and only needed to hire one person. Every single one of the seventeen was highly qualified.”


Visit RedBalloon.work today and see how we can help you save time and money by finding the right talent for your open positions.

445 views
bottom of page