Latest Release: 2023 Q4The ZipRecruiter Survey of New Hires
The ZipRecruiter Survey of New Hires is a quarterly survey of U.S. residents who started their current jobs within the past six months. New hires are the leading edge of the labor market—the first to experience changes in the urgency and intensity with which employers are recruiting workers, and the terms of employment on offer. Indicators tracked in this survey—such as how long it took workers to find their jobs, and what share received signing bonuses or healthcare benefits upon hire—can help gauge the quantity and quality of jobs available in the U.S. economy.
The Q4 2023 ZipRecruiter Survey of New Hires found that most U.S. residents who started their careers or switched jobs in the past six months found satisfactory jobs after a relatively brief search. Although job search durations ticked upwards ever so slightly, most other survey indicators—such as the share of new hires who increased their pay, received a signing bonus, or got recruited to their new jobs—rebounded from Q3 lows.
Data Spotlight
⇩ 60%
Previous: 61%
found their job in under 1 month
⇧ 70%
Previous: 58%
increased their pay
⇧ 47%
Previous: 39%
got recruited
⇧ 34%
Previous: 32%
received a signing bonus
⇧ 29%
Previous: 18%
are “very satisfied” with their new job
Highlights of the Q4 2023 Survey:
New Hires Are Finding Attractive Opportunities in a Resilient Labor Market
The labor market has cooled over the past year, with labor demand gradually falling. Nonetheless, U.S. residents who started a new job in the prior six months were generally more upbeat when surveyed in 2023 Q4 than those surveyed in Q3.
High Job Satisfaction. 87% of new hires said they were either satisfied (40%) or very satisfied (47%) with their new jobs, up from 80% in Q3. Almost all—94% up from 92% in Q3—said they have no regrets and are happy that they accepted their current role.
Largely Positive Job Search Experiences. Not only were most recent hires satisfied with their new job, but also with the process by which they found it. 68% described their job search experience as good, rather than fair (28%) or poor (4%), up from 64% in Q3. Upon applying for their current role, 90% said they received a response from the employer within a week or less, a share largely unchanged since Q3.
Greater Flexibility. Among new hires who were previously employed, 81% reported gaining an improvement along at least one dimension in their new jobs, up from 72% in Q3. The most common improvement was greater schedule flexibility (noted by 47% of job switchers, up from 42% previously). 19% said they gained the ability to work from home, up from 11% in Q3.
Better Benefits and Perks. 31% of job switchers said they gained access to health insurance by switching jobs (up from 24% in Q3), and 22% said they gained access to some kind of performance bonus pay (up from 16%). 29% of new hires reported receiving a signing bonus in Q4, reversing the Q3 decline.
“Turnover has recently slowed across the economy, but those workers who are switching jobs are still gaining improvements along multiple dimensions. Recruiting top talent remains highly competitive.”
- Marissa Morrison, ZipRecruiter Vice President, People
Bolder Candidates, More Reticent Employers
Newly hired workers were generally upbeat about their new jobs and their job search experiences despite being less likely to have experienced employer-initiated outbound recruiting efforts or counter-offers in the second half of the year than in the first. They were also substantially more likely to have negotiated their offers than in the prior quarter.
One in Three New Hires Got Recruited. About 34% of new hires said that they got recruited to their jobs—that is, they were contacted by someone from the company and invited to apply for a role or offered a role outright without having to search for it first. That fraction is a slight rebound from the Q3 low of 32%, but substantially smaller than the 44% who reported getting recruited in Q2.
One in Five Job Switchers Left Their Old Job Despite a Counteroffer. 21% of recent job switchers said that their previous employer asked them to stay and countered their new offer. That share only partially reversed the Q3 decline to 19% from 26% in Q2.
Four in Ten Job Switchers Negotiated Their Offer. 40% of recent job switchers said that they negotiated their job offer, up from just 29% in Q3. The increase in negotiation behavior may reflect recent increases in job seeker confidence and consumer confidence that could be tied to rising real wage growth, improved stock market performance, and increased optimism that the economy may be able to dodge a recession.
“Although recruiting intensity declined over the course of the year, candidates remained upbeat, with 40% negotiating for improvements in their offers—a sign of enduring confidence.”
- Julia Pollak, ZipRecruiter Chief Economist
Wage Increases and Remote Work
70% of job switchers increased their pay when they changed jobs. Workers entering hybrid jobs were most likely to secure wage increases (74%), followed by those moving into fully remote jobs (70%). Workers entering traveling roles (63%) and those entering fully onsite roles (66%) were least likely to secure pay increases. Among those who increased their pay, however, there was no statistically significant difference in the size of the pay increase.
Contrary to the theory that workers entering hybrid or remote roles might be sacrificing pay for flexibility, it appears instead that some job switchers are gaining jobs that are more attractive along multiple dimensions simultaneously (pay, flexibility, and location), whereas others are moving into less attractive roles that provide low pay and require more driving. Rather than facing tradeoffs between job characteristics, some workers have access to higher-quality jobs across multiple dimensions, and others to lower-quality jobs.
Working Remotely While on Vacation
The ability of many workers to work from anywhere has blurred the lines between vacation time and work time. 12% of newly hired workers say they plan to work remotely while traveling at some point this year, and that they plan to do leisure activities during their usual work hours. Most newly hired workers (58%) have no such plans, and say they do not expect to travel and work remotely at all this year. Another 30% do plan to travel and work remotely, but say they will only enjoy leisure activities during off hours, maintaining the same separation between work time and leisure time that they observe when in their usual workplace.
March Madness at Work
A full 58% of newly hired workers plan to watch March Madness games this year. 30% plan to do so outside of work, 20% plan to do so at work with their employer’s knowledge and permission, and 7% plan to do so at work in secret, without their employer knowing. There is a large gender divide with 75% of newly hired men and just 40% of newly hired women planning to watch the games.
Methodology
The ZipRecruiter Survey of New Hires is a survey fielded to a nationally representative online panel administered by Qualtrics during the second month of every quarter. The sample consists of more than 2,000 adults who reside in the U.S., who are currently employed, and who began their current jobs within the past six months. It excludes self-employed workers.
The survey asks these recently hired workers detailed questions about the circumstances leading up to their employment, the hiring process, the job offer, and the working conditions in their new roles. Additional findings regarding the prevalence and distribution of particular job search experiences and working conditions across the cohort of recent hires, by age, gender, education, and industry, are available upon request. Email press@ziprecruiter.com for more survey data or to schedule an interview with the authors of this study.