New research shows that hiring is harder than ever: Time to hire increasing significantly for almost all roles

• It now takes an average of 44 days to appoint people, up from 43 a year ago, rising by a full day in Q1 2023
• Energy & Defense and Professional Services have the highest average time-to-hire rates due to the specialization of roles and small talent pools available
• Organizations can leverage this data analysis to alleviate internal pressures by strategically tapping into currently-available critical talent pools, like tech professionals

June 1, 2023, Cleveland, OH — The Josh Bersin Company, the world’s most trusted human capital advisory firm, and global talent solutions business, AMS, have today reported that the climate for global talent hiring continues to experience significant turbulence, with time to hire rates at an all-time high.

Research from the Global Talent Climate report showed that average time-to-hire rates for the first quarter of 2023 alone, had increased across all industries by 1 day, despite the best efforts of employers. This pushes an already stretched recruitment process to 43 days on average. And across all industries, the research shows a widening gap between “easy to fill” and “difficult to fill” roles. While some jobs are filled in 14 days, many go vacant for 2-3 months or more. In the current age, the large number of days it takes to hire remains unsustainable if companies are to remain competitive and keep pace with the fast-changing needs of their industry.

The warning caps a new Talent Climate report, the first analysis released as part of a new research initiative launched recently by The Josh Bersin Company in collaboration with global talent solutions business AMS.

In the industry-specific overview, Energy & Defense companies took over 67 days to replace a specialist in 2022, and this is an industry projected to experience an actually even slower time-to-hire rate in 2023. At the same time, Professional Services firms are well above the average time-to-hire at 47 days. While tech roles across industries remained extremely challenging to hire in 2022, and this trend looks set to continue in 2023.

2023 benchmarks continue to rise across nearly every role, suggesting that time to hire will continue to be a challenge for most job families, compelling organizational leaders to make strategic talent plans based on their emerging needs to address hiring challenges ahead.

On a regional basis, 2023 time-to-hire projections show a significant increase in the longest hiring times for 3 out of 4 regions, suggesting that hiring in APAC, EMEA and LATAM will be increasingly difficult and volatile this year. LATAM may fall well behind other regions in 2023, with a jump in the longest hiring rates and a 6-day increase in average time to hire, for example.

In terms of verticals:

• Energy & Defense has the longest time-to-hire rates at 67+ days. Even slower time-to-hire rates are predicted for 2023. Internal mobility, skilling and job design need thought to address talent needs here
• Pharma & Life Sciences’ time-to-hire rates are projected to improve in 2023—likely the result of the strategies put in place to increase hiring during the global pandemic
• Investment Banking has one of the biggest ranges of time to hire, from 21 days to 60+ days. Players in this sector should be prepared for extreme variability when hiring: role, skills and region will all impact hiring times
• Professional Services is well above the average time-to-hire at 47 days. This sector experiences longer-than-average hiring time than most other industries
• Retail & Consumer boasted the shortest time to hire rates in 2022, possibly a reflection of the global reopening of facilities and supply chains post-pandemic. Time hire rates continue to fall here in 2023 as consumer behaviors return to normal
• Consumer Banking matched the global average time to hire in 2022, but hiring is projected to be a challenge in 2023. Rates are creeping up, though, with an average increase of 2 days
• Tech & Media companies had strong time-to-hire rates in the first half of 2022 as the sector swelled; the shortest hire rates hovered around 20 days, substantially below the global average, with competition at an all-time high. As the industry recalibrates in 2023, hiring rates continue to be low, but will likely stabilize to global averages by the year-end
• Transportation has the most compact range of hiring time, suggesting relative consistency for recruiting across roles. Massive hiring volumes in 2022 required companies in this sector to streamline their processes, and as travel continues to increase around the world, this trend continues—for now at least.

The research, Talent Climate–Time to Hire Benchmark Factbook, involved deep analysis of a quarter million hires in 2022 and 2023.

An element of the research that may be useful to hiring teams is that a number of Benchmark Scorecards were outputted. These Scorecards offer a powerful tool for organizations looking to optimize their recruiting practices, as employers can compare their own time-to-hire targets and outcomes with their industry peers, by region and by job category, and pinpoint opportunities to improve hiring results.

Janet Mertens, The Josh Bersin Company Senior Vice President of Research, said:“Although the fragile state of the economy would suggest growing unemployment, the pandemic continues to leave its mark on people’s work/life priorities. At the same time, rapid digital reinvention of many industries is creating a sharp shift in the skills now needed. This is leaving gaps where new and emerging skills have yet to be developed in sufficient numbers.”

Josh Bersin, global HR research analyst and CEO of The Josh Bersin Company, said:“Whatever may be happening in the world economy currently, it is clear that supply and demand are not in sync in terms of the type of skills available and the gaps that need to be filled. The real trailblazers in HR and talent acquisition have recognized this, and are thinking outside the box when it comes to developing people, cross-pollinating roles from elsewhere, and actively keeping succession and new-role pipelines full.

 Jim Sykes, Global Managing Director of Client Operations at AMS said: “As our data shows, time to hire has risen consistently for the last four years. Make no mistake, the hiring market is not going to get easier any time soon. HR and Talent leaders will need to continue to innovate and transform their strategies for acquiring, developing and retaining talent. This report will give a perspective as to how those leaders are faring today against their competitors.”

The Talent Climate–Time to Hire Benchmark Factbook is published exclusively for Josh Bersin Company members. You can learn more about the Talent Climate Series and how the research is applicable to a variety of organizations here.