U.S. employers are taking longer, average of 25 working days,
to fill vacant positions. That is a 13-year high, according to the Dice-DFH
Vacancy Duration Measure, an index created by University of Chicago economist
Steven Davis. At companies with 5,000 or more workers, the time to hire is even
longer, at 58.1 working days. The index defines working days as Monday through
Saturday.
Economists and employers say there is no single cause for
the slow hiring pace, but the lag time can be read as a proxy for corporate
confidence in the economy. On one hand, companies are feeling sunny enough to
post jobs—openings reached 4.7 million in June, the highest number since
2001—but, fearful the economy could falter, they are finding it hard to commit
to hires.
Typically, a longer time between employers advertising a job
and having an offer accepted is a sign of a thriving economy, suggesting there
are more openings than job seekers to fill them. But with nearly 10 million
Americans currently unemployed, that doesn't describe today's labor market.
Employers have raised the credentials required for jobs,
according to recent studies, and some have intensified pre-hire screenings. As
a result, bosses are having trouble finding candidates who not only possess the
skills for the job but also clear those higher hurdles.
Also potentially slowing the process are social networks
like LinkedIn, where employers court so-called passive candidates who are
already employed at competitors and not officially on the job market. While
such networks expand the pool of potential hires, wooing those candidates takes
longer than plucking someone actively searching for work who uses Labor
Department data for the time-to-hire index. Thinner staffing in HR and
recruiting departments may be another factor, since recruiters are taking on a
larger workload as employers post jobs.
Like many other employers, Bridgestone Retail is conducting
more background, drug and physical screenings for candidates and has a more
rigorous interview process for white-collar hires. That comes with a business
cost. Bridgestone Retail Chairman and President Stu Crum says desirable
candidates sometimes go elsewhere rather than wait, and in the meantime,
short-staffed stores may have to turn customers away, or incur overtime costs
for mechanics. The company is trying out an outside firm to conduct background
checks and sift applications, in an effort to speed hiring. Mr. Crum has set a
target of 10 to 14 days for store staff and around 30 days for corporate
positions.
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