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Connecticut employers need to sharpen their hiring practices in the face of challenging demographic trends, according to Jack Mahoney, head of revenue and growth finance at the employment ad platform Indeed.
Mahoney addressed this week’s economic summit hosted in Hartford by the Connecticut Business and Industry Association.
“It is estimated that by starting next year, the U.S. labor force participation rate will start to decline,” he told the assembled business people. “And this demographic issue is not unique to the United States or Connecticut. This is fairly consistent across the globe.”
Stamford-based Indeed’s data shows that both the number of available positions and number of job seekers declined in Connecticut in 2024. Jobs advertised on Indeed in November 2024 were 29% lower than their high point in January 2023, while job seekers were down 35%.
However, Mahoney said that in the short term, open positions did rebound slightly in the second half of 2024, and currently, job posting growth in Connecticut is outpacing that of Massachusetts and New York, even as the state has a slightly lower unemployment rate.
There are currently nine job seekers for every open job in Connecticut.
On an industry level, Indeed’s data shows the highest increase in open positions is in dental and real estate in Connecticut. The biggest declines in 2024 came in mechanical engineering and information design and documentation. Mahoney says these declines are driven by a few large employers.
Aviation and civil engineering meanwhile, became more challenging to hire for, with fewer job seekers than the number of open positions.
Mahoney described talent attraction as “incredibly challenging,” and urged employers to examine their hiring procedures, including casting a wider net by including fewer required qualifications on job ads. This could include lowering requirements for years of experience or formal education.
“What we found is that job seekers...think they need 50 to 80% of the qualifications in order to even consider applying for the job,” he said. “I strongly encourage you to think about what are the actual qualifications that are necessary to do this role. Do not throw the kitchen sink at it because according to this data, you're going to miss a lot of individuals.”
He also highlighted survey data that shows benefits can be as important as pay to job seekers.
“Think about either adding new benefits, or at the very least, make sure that you highlight the ones that you do have in your organization,” he said. “You’d be surprised at how many companies don't do that.”
Indeed employs around 700 people in Connecticut, and last year signed a 10-year lease on a new co-headquarters premises in Stamford. The company will move into the new location at The Link on Elm Street in December.
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