To identify the hottest growth categories of the decade, radio and podcast sales teams may want to consider which industry sectors are doing the most hiring. Bureau of Labor Statistics data compiled by American Staffing Association (ASA) identifies the top five sectors for wage and salary jobs through 2029. Thanks in part to the pandemic, Healthcare and Social Assistance tops the chart with 23.5 million jobs forecast by 2029.
It’s closely followed by Professional and Business Services (which includes Employment Services) as the second fastest growing industry. This segment is on track to add 1.5 million jobs from 2019-2029 for a total of 22.8 million jobs at an annual growth rate of 0.7% to 1.0%.
“We know that demand is going to continue to grow steadily over the next 10-20 years,” says Cynthia Davidson, Senior Director of Research at ASA, the trade association representing the American staffing, recruiting, and workforce solutions industry. One of the growth factors is ongoing demand for computer systems design, consulting and staffing services.
Also on an upward trajectory is State and Local Government, which is expected to produce 20.1 million jobs by the end of the decade, followed by Leisure & Hospitality (17.7 million jobs) and Retail at 15.3 million.
This peek into the future of the jobs market was presented during Radio Works for Recruitment Advertising, a live streaming session from the Radio Advertising Bureau.
It’s no secret that the country is in the throes of a massive labor shortage – around 4 million workers in the U.S. quit their jobs in April according to the Labor Department, smashing a 20-year record. “There are so many more job offers than there are people to fill them right now and that’s not just for the staffing industry but for employment overall. It’s been a struggle and the pandemic has not helped that,” Davidson said. “The good news is the staffing demand is going to continue. They’re going to continue to need support from organizations like your own to help them in getting people into their roles on their bench so they can place them into assignments.”
Thanks to services such as Indeed and ZipRecruiter, the recruitment industry has emerged as one of audio’s biggest advertising growth categories. A major audio investor across broadcast radio and podcasting, Indeed was the ninth largest radio advertiser of 2020, based on spot volume. ZipRecruiter was No. 26 and Amazon.com was No. 54, according to Media Monitors, which tracks advertising in 110 markets.
As radio look to keep recruitment ad dollars flowing, Davidson showed how the industry is tracking. Following a plunge in 2020, staffing employment has mostly recovered in 2021, tracking on par with 2019 levels so far this year. “We’re high, about 51% over the plunge from last year” and 5% below where full staffing was in 2019, Davidson explained. Staffing jobs increased 51.3% year-over-year when averaged over the four weeks ending June 6, 2021, according to ASA data. In May temporary employment was up nearly 33%.
“Staffing companies are projecting they will be up 20% for sales in second quarter of 2021,” said Davidson. “They’re very optimistic about what’s happening and expect to be up 11% by year end. This is all great news and it all checks very closely with what economists are saying about Gross Domestic Product.”
The session also featured recruitment advertising case studies from Lisa Kirkman, National Accounts Sales Director at Ruby Radio, and Michael Lewis, multi-media marketing consultant for Community First Broadcasting.
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