RECRUITMENT & RETENTION

Anna Kim

The labor market showed little sign of change in August, based on the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which noted a small increase in hires, a decrease in job openings and layoffs, and relatively consistent quits.

“If we look back over the last year, employers have been in this low-hire, low-fire environment, and that’s reflected again in the data,” Daniel Zhao, Glassdoor’s chief economist, told HR Brew. Let’s take a closer look.

Diving into the data. Job openings fell to 7.1 million in August, declining by 256,000 from July. Total hires rose slightly to just under 5.2 million in August, increasing by 46,000 from the month prior. Within total separations, turnover changed little or slowed further. Layoffs in August declined by 61,000, to 1.64 million total. Quits remained relatively unchanged, sitting at 3.1 million in August, the same as the month before.

Zoom out. With few people quitting and few companies hiring, it should come as no surprise to HR leaders that workers are unhappy right now. When jobs are few and far between, workers will prioritize staying put over taking a risk on a new opportunity, Zhao told us. Employers that ignore their employees’ frustrations risk letting their resentment build up.

For more on how HR teams can navigate the low-hire, low-fire labor market, keep reading here.—PM

      

Sponsored By Hub International

Your organization’s ambitions depend on your people. So shape benefits around what they value today and what they’re working toward next.

HUB designs programs around employees’ changing priorities so you can get more from every benefits investment. By combining benefits expertise, workforce insights, and strategic guidance, HUB helps you understand what matters most to your people across life stages.

The right benefits only create value when people understand (and use) them. That’s why HUB’s award-winning communications team helps turn your benefits strategy into meaningful employee engagement, so your investment delivers greater impact.

With their expertise and a strategy shaped around what your people value, HUB helps you create cost-effective, personalized programs. HUB brings together benefits, risk, insurance, retirement, and wealth expertise to help you move forward with clarity and confidence.

Hear stories from HUB advisors on how they help clients reach their ambitions. Discover HUB.

DEI

Adobe Stock

Salesforce has teamed up with the Department of Defense SkillBridge program to help equip service members transitioning out of the military with skills for the civilian workforce, the company announced on Sept 14.

The Missionforce Military Fellowship is a 12-week program that helps service members translate and build skills for AI and technology jobs through hands-on training and mentorship. Those who complete the program will receive a Salesforce certification and a chance at full-time roles with Missionforce, the company’s platform for defense and intelligence organizations.

Just days before the announcement, President Trump signed an executive order aimed at helping veterans more quickly transition to jobs in the private sector.

This new initiative is the latest military commitment from Salesforce, which partners with programs including Hiring Our Heroes to support service members, veterans, and military spouses in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

For more on how other employers are supporting veterans transitioning to the civilian workforce, keep reading here.—KP

      

Sponsored By BambooHR

The state of AI + HR. AI’s involvement in HR doesn’t always come across clearly. While some HR teams are prioritizing AI adoption, HR sometimes doesn’t communicate their level of AI participation and strategy with employees. HR Brew’s State of the Industry: AI Readiness in HR explores the discrepancy and what work remains to be done.

TOTAL REWARDS

Jonathan Heisler

To cut or not to cut benefits?

That is the question plaguing many total rewards professionals as rising costs put pressure on them to rethink their benefit plans.

And sometimes, the answer is to cut benefits. Chelsea Kaden, chief people officer at eyeglass retailer Warby Parker, shared her experience answering this question during a recent HR Brew event.

For more from our conversation with Kaden, keep reading here.—MC

      

Sponsored By UKG

Make work work. UKG’s workforce operating platform brings together HR, payroll, and workforce management in one solution. They help organizations make smarter, real-time decisions about staffing, pay, compliance, and productivity with the help of people-first AI and decades of labor data. See how they make it all work.

work perks

Francis Scialabba

Today’s top HR reads.

Stat: Employment scams are on the rise, victimizing some 25,000 people just last year. (the Washington Post)

Quote: “It’s just really hard for workers to enter or reenter the labor market.”—Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, on the rise of long-term joblessness among Americans, despite a low unemployment rate (Bloomberg)

Read: You get a digital twin! You get a digital twin! Everybody gets a digital twin! Hedge fund Millennium is giving its 7,000+ employees the option to team up with a personalized AI assistant in a bid to encourage the tech’s adoption. (Business Insider)

^{*A message from our sponsor.}

Morning Brew Inc.

HR Brew’s State of the Industry report digs into how AI is reshaping HR’s DEI work and where the practice is heading as the political climate shifts underneath it.