Employers to hire more contract workers, says LinkedIn
CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES — More employers are expected to hire contract workers to cope with the global economic uncertainty, said employment-focused platform LinkedIn.
In its 2023 Future of Recruiting Report, LinkedIn revealed that in the United States (U.S.) alone, the share of paid job posts for contractor roles increased by 26% year-on-year.
On the other hand, job postings for full-time roles only grew by six per cent.
“As uncertainty grows, businesses need to be more nimble and responsive to sudden shifts in the market,” LinkedIn stated.
This means that more companies could increasingly rely on “contingent talent” — like contractors or gig workers — whose labor can be easily scaled up and down on demand.
Meanwhile, the firm’s report showed a more stable split on recruitment, with 22% of companies expecting to spend more on in-house recruiters this year and 23% expecting to invest more in external staffing firms.
Stephen Lochhead, SVP of Global Talent Acquisition at engineering firm Expedia, said, “If you’re a recruiting leader in 2023 and you don’t have a decent mix of contingent talent, you’ll be more risk-exposed to whatever the future brings — good and bad. You need some elasticity so you can flex up or down as needed.”