From Loud Layoffs To The SVB Meltdown: What The Job Market Is Telling Us

With each passing day, another headline floats across screens: inflation, layoffs, and investor debacles are plaguing the economic landscape. With no signs of slowing down, from a new round of Meta layoffs to the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, employers and job seekers alike are wondering what implications this has on the job market as a whole.

How should employers navigate this challenging market? Our team of job market experts guides you through the trends:

Loud layoffs

From late in 2022 to today, the layoff streak has not slowed. And while the buzz word last year might’ve been “quiet quitting,” the subsequent job market trend has been coined, “loud layoffs.” Loud layoffs refers to the idea that the conversation about layoffs doesn’t reflect the holistic job market. The layoff announcements today come often, and they plaster the headlines.

Read Also: Quiet Quitters: Who Is Really To Blame?

While the layoff announcements are delivered with a megaphone, other employers are still desperate to find talent, according to Dave Muller, Executive Vice President at Tandym Tech. “Our recruitment team has not seen wild effects from these layoffs in the tech industry,” he explains. “The demand for talent is so high that laid off employees are frequently finding new—and better—jobs fairly quickly.” As Dave points out, this is especially true for niche specialties like cybersecurity, where the demand continues to far outweigh the supply.

Jobs reports

Another baffling aspect of today’s job market continues to be the jobs reports. While headlines announce tens of thousands of job cuts across companies, the Bureau of Labor Statistics backs up what our recruitment experts see on the ground. In January, after expecting a poor performance, the U.S. economy added over 500,000 jobs. In February, this was followed by adding over 300,000 jobs—another unexpectedly high performance.

If you’re struggling to reconcile these two stories, you’re not alone. “A lot of these layoffs are due to tech companies who experienced extreme growth in 2020 and 2021 as people spent more time at home—and online,” says Dave. “As a result, they hired thousands of professionals.” Later, these short-term hiring spurts did not result in long-term success, and many companies have been pressured by investors to cut costs.

The Great Resignation & worker demands

For other organizations, as Dave explains, they’re hungry to hire these laid off employees. Throughout 2021 and 2022, employers experienced the effects of the Great Resignation. For years, they have struggled to retain and hire key positions across their company.

Read Also: The Great Resignation Has Employers Scrambling

These eager employers have also learned how to adapt to become a more attractive place to work. From flexible work requirements to better benefits, the Great Resignation was a wake-up call to a new era of work for everyone.

Read Also: This Is A Labor Movement

In addition, several specialties remain challenging to fill. From healthcare to tech to accounting, the need to hire key roles to maintain health, safety, and legal standards remains. In industries like healthcare, the shortage for professionals has become a safety concern, causing strikes across the country. With such critical needs, there’s no sign of hiring slowing down—and employers are struggling to remain competitive.

Silicon Valley Bank implosion

As if there weren’t enough confusing signals in the job market, the Silicon Valley Bank collapse has the world on edge. Hoping to avoid another 2008 economic crisis, employers may be wondering what lies ahead. While it seems some drastic outcomes have been avoided, the full implications of this event are still unfolding.

“While this specific event may affect companies within the life sciences, tech, or healthcare industries, the implications do reach beyond that,” says Dave. “Larger companies may feel more risk-averse since the SVB collapse. With a more unpredictable market, they may be less likely to invest in innovation.”

Read Also: SVB Collapse Triggers New Cybersecurity Threats

How should employers react?

With so much to unpack, what can employers do to weather the events ahead of us? Our team explains how you can hire the talent you need to stay afloat—even when everything feels uncertain.

• Adopt an agile hiring strategy: “What we can learn from these mass layoffs is that there are more sustainable hiring strategies,” explains Lynda Parker, Executive Vice President at Tandym Life Sciences. “When you’re unsure of what lies ahead, contingent and contract-to-hire strategies can help you remain agile while reducing your overall risk of investing in too much infrastructure.” Contractors and consultants can also bring unique value to your organization, often carrying niche skillsets that can help you navigate challenging or complex projects.
• Remember who remains in-demand: Keep in mind that headlines are not the whole story. Across industries today, professionals remain in high demand, and employers face stiff competition. If you’re looking to attract top talent to your organization, you should continue to:
  • Speed up your hiring process
  • Consider hiring for potential
  • Offer competitive compensation and benefits