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Workday Global Workforce Report: Job Market Tightens as AI Reshapes Hiring Processes

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Workday’s Global Workforce Report for the first half of 2024 highlights a notable trend in the labor market: job applications are increasing four times faster than job openings, creating a competitive landscape for job seekers. Despite this growth, organizations are struggling to retain top talent, with voluntary turnover among high-potential employees up in 75% of industries. To address these challenges, companies are turning to AI to enhance hiring efficiency and fairness, and to support internal mobility programs aimed at retaining key employees. The report also underscores the importance of meaningful work in driving employee satisfaction and loyalty, with those finding their work meaningful feeling 37% more accomplished even under challenging workloads.

Job Applications Grew Four Times Faster than Job Openings

Even in an Employer’s Market, Data Shows Top Talent is Hard to Find and Harder to Keep

AI Emerges as Key Tool in Talent Acquisition and Retention

PLEASANTON, Calif., Sept. 10, 2024 — Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ: WDAY), a leading provider of solutions to help organizations manage their people and money, published its semi-annual Global Workforce Report today, which found that it’s an employers’ market, with the number of job applications growing four times faster than job openings. Despite these odds, top performing employees are quitting their jobs to look for better opportunities elsewhere. At the same time, organizations are turning to AI to transform how they find and keep their best people.

Key findings from the first half of 2024 Workday Global Workforce Report include:

  • It’s getting tougher to land a new job: The surge in applications (31%) far outpaces job growth (7%) in the first half of 2024 compared to the first half of 2023.
  • Top performers may leave first: Voluntary turnover of high-potential employees is up in 75% of the industries tracked.
  • AI is becoming a must-have tool for HR teams: 77% of organizations plan to increase their use of AI in hiring in the coming year.
  • Meaningful work leads to greater feelings of accomplishment and loyalty: Workers who believe they are doing meaningful work feel 37% more accomplished than those who don’t, even under workloads workers describe as “challenging.”

Workday Recruiting customers processed 19 million job requisitions – a 7% increase compared to the first half of 2023 – and 173 million job applications – a 31% increase compared to the same period. While the job market grew, it’s becoming increasingly competitive for employees, a trend that will become more pronounced if job growth slows and unemployment keeps edging up in the U.S. and globally.

“The job market is shifting to favor employers, but, at the same time, workers are getting more confident in what they want – competitive pay, clear growth paths, and meaningful work,” said Ashley Goldsmith, chief people officer, Workday. “It’s up to leaders to help employees find meaning in their work in order to retain the high performing people who drive their organization’s success.”

The Job Market Remains Tough for Workers
While companies are hiring more, they’re also receiving a flood of applications, making it harder for employers to select the right candidate and for employees to stand out. This intense competition is pushing employers to become even more selective, with 72% of leaders raising the bar for qualifications and experience. This trend shows no signs of slowing down, as 59% of leaders say this is likely to continue for the next year, creating a challenging landscape for job seekers, while employers struggle to find efficient and fair ways to hire the best talent.

High Performing Workers Seek New Opportunities as Employers Struggle to Retain Talent
As companies start hiring again, their most talented employees may be leaving for better opportunities elsewhere. Even though overall employee turnover has been low, data shows that top performers are most likely to leave: 75% of the industries tracked saw an increase in the loss of high-potential employees. This is a big challenge for the 50% of companies already struggling to keep their best people. To address this, many are turning to internal mobility programs to help employees grow and develop within the company. These programs have been successful, with 67% of leaders reporting a positive impact on their organization.

AI is Leveling the Hiring Playing Field and Improving Efficiency
More and more companies are turning to AI for hiring and are seeing real benefits. Most leaders (70%) say AI will make hiring more fair, and 89% believe it will make their hiring processes more efficient. It’s no wonder that most companies (77%) plan to use AI in hiring even more in the coming year. The most popular ways they’re using it now include testing candidates’ skills (26%), screening resumes and applications (26%), and automating repetitive tasks (24%).

Meaningful Work Emerges as the Key to Employee Loyalty and Resilience
In a time when companies are pushing for greater productivity, giving employees meaningful work to drive feelings of accomplishment is key to keeping them engaged and loyal. Report findings show that employees who find their work meaningful feel 37% more accomplished, even when workloads are overwhelming. While growth opportunity, a clear strategy, and fair pay are important for employee loyalty, a sense of accomplishment is also crucial. To boost employee satisfaction, leaders should prioritize meaningful work and consider using AI tools to help employees focus on high-impact tasks.

For additional information:

About this Report
Insights in the Global Workforce Report (formerly known as the Workday Hiring and Talent Trends Report) are from Workday Peakon Employee Voice, Workday People Analytics, Workday Recruiting, and HiredScore. Third-party data comes from research commissioned by Workday and carried out by independent market research specialist Hanover Research, which polled 1,000 respondents in July 2024. For more, see the methodology section at the end of the report.

About Workday
Workday is a leading enterprise platform that helps organizations manage their most important assets – their people and money. The Workday platform is built with AI at the core to help customers elevate people, supercharge work, and move their business forever forward. Workday is used by more than 10,500 organizations around the world and across industries – from medium-sized businesses to more than 60% of the Fortune 500. For more information about Workday, visit workday.com.

© 2024 Workday, Inc. All rights reserved. Workday and the Workday logo are registered trademarks of Workday, Inc. All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements including, among other things, statements regarding Workday’s plans, beliefs, and expectations. These forward-looking statements are based only on currently available information and our current beliefs, expectations, and assumptions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. If the risks materialize, assumptions prove incorrect, or we experience unexpected changes in circumstances, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements, and therefore you should not rely on any forward-looking statements. Risks include, but are not limited to, risks described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including our most recent report on Form 10-Q or Form 10-K and other reports that we have filed and will file with the SEC from time to time, which could cause actual results to vary from expectations. Workday assumes no obligation to, and does not currently intend to, update any such forward-looking statements after the date of this release, except as required by law.

Any unreleased services, features, or functions referenced in this document, our website, or other press releases or public statements that are not currently available are subject to change at Workday’s discretion and may not be delivered as planned or at all. Customers who purchase Workday services should make their purchase decisions based upon services, features, and functions that are currently available.

SOURCE Workday Inc.

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