Kate Duchene’s Post

The U.S. economy added 272,000 jobs in May as the labor market continues to show resiliency despite other signs of a slowdown in hiring. The number of available jobs reached 8.06 million in April according to this week’s JOLTS data – the lowest since February 2021 – while the quits rate remained at 2.2% for a 6th consecutive month.   Increasing competitive pressures are forcing businesses to find new ways of getting work done and filling skills gaps. As I wrote in my latest Forbes Contributor article, more organizations are tapping the growing pool of skilled independent workers as a result. This shift in strategy can bring competitive benefits to organizations that successfully integrate skilled independent talent into their workforce. Read more in Forbes: https://lnkd.in/efCvXtdw   #JobsReport #LaborMarket #SkillsGaps

U.S. job growth totaled 175,000 in April, marking the first time that employment has fallen below expectations since late last year. While this is the lowest total since October 2023, this is the kind of steady growth that the Fed has been looking for as it remains in wait-and-see mode on potential interest rate cuts. We also saw job openings reach a three-year low in this week’s JOLTS report, with the quits rate reaching the lowest level since August 2020 and the ratio of job openings for available workers dipping to 1.32.   This all points to further, steady normalization of the labor market, but it also illustrates the growing challenge employers face in filling widening skill gaps – especially highly-sought after skilled workers. As companies navigate the changing technical skillsets necessitated by the growing urgency to embrace digital transformation, AI and automation, leaders will need to rely more on independent and outside talent to fill these vital roles.   https://lnkd.in/dCsmGsSn   #JobsReport #LaborMarket #SkillsGaps

Thank you to Josh Lipton and Julie Hyman for having me on Yahoo Finance last week to discuss the key factors that are driving women back into the workforce at a record pace.   https://lnkd.in/gx4Ee92E   #WomenInTheWorkforce #WorkforceTrends #DareToWorkDifferently

The US economy added 303,000 jobs in March as monthly payroll data once again exceeded expectations. The labor participation rate increased for the first time since November, rising slightly to 62.7%.   This week's JOLTS survey data also showed that the ratio of job openings to available workers eased to 1.36 in February. While all these signs point to a very resilient labor market, it remains quite imbalanced when it comes to highly sought-after skills.   We recently polled financial decision-makers about the skills gaps their finance teams are currently facing, and some of the most cited areas included business process management, data management, and soft skills, in addition to AI and automation. We’ll continue to see this labor market imbalance cause employers to rethink how they fill these widening skills gaps.   https://lnkd.in/d9BsPp38   #JobsReport #LaborMarket #SkillsGaps

We have entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Reference Point – a firm with deep financial services industry acumen and an impressive array of advisory offerings. This has been a top-three sector for us since inception and we expect this business combination to accelerate our growth in this key vertical. Read more in the full announcement.

Labor market shifts have created a large and growing global pool of highly-skilled, independent workers, causing more employers to adapt a dynamic workforce model. I believe large organizations are nearing a 50/50 split between full-time employees and outside talent, and I wrote about 3 factors that are driving this trend in my latest Forbes contribution. https://lnkd.in/d6TGf2q4   #LaborMarket #DynamicWorkforce #IntellectualArbitrage 

Despite being disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, women have returned to the workforce at a record pace. For my first article as a Forbes Contributor, I wrote about 3 encouraging factors that are contributing to the resurgence.   #WomenIntheWorkforce #LaborMarket #Workforce   https://lnkd.in/dMJ32tSx

While there’s a long way to go before we reach gender parity, I’m encouraged by these 3 trends shaping today’s workforce: 1) Women are outpacing men in the labor force participation rebound 1) Women are re-entering the workforce in new industries and in new roles; and 3) Women are taking on more leadership positions.   On this International Women’s Day, let’s reflect on the strides women have made in narrowing the parity gap and continue to push for the greater leadership representation that will lead to real change.   #InternationalWomensDay #GenderParity #WomenInTheWorkforce   https://lnkd.in/ePf_YvQA

The 275,000 jobs added in February once again exceeded economist expectations, but updates to the last two months of BLS data tell a different story. January’s estimate was revised downward from 353,000 to 229,000, with a total of 167,000 trimmed from the last two months of data.   The imbalance in the labor market has forced employers to get more creative in filling skills gaps and that shift is likely to continue when the Fed does start cutting interest rates. We recently polled 200+ financial decision makers about the workforce impact of a lower interest rate environment and more than half said they’d invest more in upskilling and reskilling current employees while half would prioritize balancing internal teams with outside talent. Comparatively, approximately one-third said they’d invest newly unlocked capital in full-time headcount. This shift in workforce strategy will continue to be accelerated by widening skills gaps for technical and knowledge-based work.   https://lnkd.in/dJyZZzwP   #JobsReport #LaborMarket #SkillsGaps