The impact Covid-19 has had on the global economy cannot go unnoticed. The global pandemic has affected all aspects of our lives and sent shock waves through all sectors of the economy, causing disruptions of unprecedented magnitudes. The recruitment sector has not been spared, and it seems like the job market will never be the same again. In this article, we examine some of the ways in which Covid-19 is reshaping the recruitment sector.
Individual sectors have been affected differently
The economic impact of Covid-19 is generally negative; however, each sector of the economy has been affected differently. The hospitality, restaurant, and travel industries are among the hardest-hit sectors. As a result, businesses in these industries are making their employees redundant, and this has significantly reduced recruitment activity. On the other hand, the demand for healthcare workers is on the rise as the health care sector prepares to handle the worst-case scenario. Therefore, although the economy is struggling, the recruitment of healthcare workers, such as nurses and doctors is on an uptrend. Other industries that are extensively hiring amid the Covid-19 pandemic include shipping and delivery services, online learning services, and grocery stores.
The coronavirus pandemic has changed the structure of the job market
Before the COVID-19 outbreak, the economy was doing relatively well, and unemployment was at its lowest in recent years. In fact, recruiters were struggling with the lack of talent, and attracting great candidates was a big challenge. At the onset of the pandemic, people were unwilling to change jobs, and statistics show that job applications across all industries fell by 47% in February 2020. However, things started changing quite rapidly, and by May 2020, unemployment had risen to 7.4 % in Europe and 15% in the US. Although changes in unemployment rates were drastic, they are short-term in nature, and things might normalize as various economic activities resume.
However, there are aspects of the job market that may change forever. For instance, the shift to remote working triggered by the pandemic has opened the door to a truly globalized job market. Companies will now start considering hiring people from all over the world, and therefore, they will have an unlimited talent pool to choose from.
Recruitment techniques are changing
Governments around the world responded to the threat of Covid-19 by imposing lockdowns to limit the spread of the virus. Authorities also advised the public to observe social distancing. Therefore, companies that want to continue hiring new employees have no choice but to adapt to the new social distancing norms. For them to go on with the recruitment processes within the set public health regulations, they must do it virtually. While virtual recruitment is not new, a lot of businesses had not adopted it before the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is now a huge challenge for them. For those who have already started making use of virtual recruitment partially, they just made a few adjustments to move the entire recruitment process online. Therefore, the use of technology in the recruitment process is now on the rise, and the trend is unlikely to reverse in the near future.
Overall, it is apparent that the Novel Coronavirus has affected the recruitment sector in several ways. Although millions of people in various industries have lost their jobs, demand for talent in a few industries has risen as the economy adjusts to the new realities. Those that are still recruiting have now been forced to move their entire recruitment process online. Since working virtually is gradually becoming the norm, recruiters can now take advantage of the global job market and cast their nets wider to recruit the best talent from around the world.
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