Sacramento Quarterly Employment Trends – Q4 2015 Posted

Job demand & hiring trends for local companies in the 4th Quarter of 2015 & Special Report: Degrees in Hiring

Hiring in the Sacramento region has exploded! Seventy-six percent (76%) or just over three quarters of all companies surveyed in direct contacts by phone report open doors for applicants raising the demand a full six percentage points over this same time last year.  Just twenty-four percent (24%) of top regional employers surveyed between August 17 and September 17 say they are not hiring in Q4.

When asked about motivation for hiring in October, November and December Pacific Staffing learned more than half, fifty-four percent (54%), of Sacramento regional hiring related to workforce growth, or expansion of payrolls. However, a larger number, sixty-one percent (61%) say part of their hiring is required for replacements or attrition among existing employees.

Pacific Staffing also discovered a shortage of qualified applicants and growing worry about retention in keeping those already on the payrolls.

Going back to 1992 when the Employment Trends Survey began among top Sacramento regional employers, an unprecedented number of companies report difficulty in finding people with skills to do the work. When asked what challenges they face in Q4 hiring twenty-six percent (26%) of Sacramento regional companies polled report concerns about finding qualified applicants.

Skills Demand?

Shortages of skills include construction trades, route and delivery drivers, RN’s with obstetrics experience, sales and accounting or finance backgrounds.  Skills also in demand include customer service, warehouse, shipping, manufacturing, product assembly and general office experience.

Special Report: Degrees In Hiring!

When asked, “If you were a student what specific degree, major or course of study would be most beneficial to getting a job after graduation?” Sacramento employers overwhelming say a Business Administration degree is your best choice.  Many also suggested that degree should include an important Minor, such as Communications, English, Finance/Accounting or Economics. Fifty percent of all sectors; Service, Manufacturing, Construction and Retail contacts recommended Business.

Seven percent (7%) suggested English, while another (7%) cited Information Technology as a major with five percent (5%) Accounting/ Finance or Economics.  Other interesting choices included Medicine/Health, Systems Analysis and a new degree in Mechatronics. The latter a new major blending skills relating to both mechanical engineering and electronic systems.

Sacramento Regional Top Companies Polled By Industry:

  • 42%Service
  • 27% Manufacturers
  • 17% Construction
  • 14% are Retail

 

=============Next Quarterly Projections: January 2016 =================

 

Media contact: Rick Reed 916-704-0080/ info@rickreedpr.com