The council is a thermometer of the health of the so-called white-collar economy (that of administrative positions) and lately the temperature is cooling in a very important sector for employment in the United States. The “ghost jobs”, within a maximum period of two years, and the drop in salaries, which should add this year its third consecutive drop, draw a panorama that plunges more and more professionals into a lethargy with a domino effect.
While “ghost jobs” have declined in finance and technology, those in consulting have increased to 31% in the second quarter of this year, up from 26% two years ago and well above the prevalence in the broader job market. According to data from recruitment platform Greenhouse, which posts about 225,000 job openings per month, these are the highest in two years.
This situation is materialized by job offers that remain active long after the position is filled, by the sudden freezing of hiring or by the publication of the same work in duplicate by the employer and the recruitment agency.
This scenario represents a 180-degree turn among professionals in an industry in which, historically, the best and brightest could choose where to work, but are now faced with selection processes that stop even without any explanation. Applications go unanswered, interviews are canceled or in which the recruiter He is not very interested in the profile he himself called… What is the reason for the change?
THE Decrease in demand for traditional consulting services has led to job cuts and a slowdown in hiring at firms such as Accenture, Ernst & Young and McKinsey, some of the industry’s heavyweights. Added to that is uncertainty over the November U.S. presidential election and renewed concerns about a looming recession that have dampened a market where lucrative jobs were plentiful just two years ago.
In data from Source Global Research, an industry research firm, US Consulting Market Growth Slows last year, up to 5.2%, compared to 14% the year before, as nearly half of the companies that use consultants admitted that they were reducing, postponing or canceling projects. Overall, the same analysis predicts growth of around 6% this year, eight-tenths more.
Jon Stross, co-founder and president of Greenhouse, tells Bloomberg that “when the economy is up, you have to treat candidates better and make decisions more quickly” […] But when the situation changes and there are too many candidates, decision-making slows down.” In this case, he acknowledges that “recruiters can wait for the ideal person to appear, so they treat people less well,” he says, referring to the frustrating selection processes imposed in the sector.
Salaries and AI, the other ingredients of “chaos”
It’s not just candidates who end up disappointed. The situation can also affect recruiters. That’s the reading made by Hung Lee, editor-in-chief of the industry newsletter. Brainfood Recruitmentacknowledging that they may feel overwhelmed by candidates in the current slow hiring market. Lee said other causes of ghost jobs include
Staff consultants aren’t having the best time either, given the slowdown in salary growth they’ve seen in recent years. The Conference Board’s survey of managers found that average salary budgets in consulting will increase by just 3.85% next year, slightly less than this year and more than a percentage point below the nearly 5% increase in 2023.
Artificial intelligence is one of the ingredients of disruptions experienced by the labor market consulting. Companies are exploring new technologies and may no longer need the services offered by consultants and are looking for more agile systems.
