The labor market has seen numerous changes in most countries recently, including the UK and the US. The changes in employment rates are among the most prominent trends in the UK labor market currently. According to the UK Office for National Statistics, the levels of employment reached 76.0% in the UK in 2019, which was 0.5% higher than in 2018, yet showed a slight decline compared to the previous quarter. The fluctuating nature of the UK employment rates is a reason for concern since it destabilizes the market and slackens the pace of its development. Another important tendency of the target market is the drop in the extent of economic inactivity, which signifies that the market is ready to expand. Therefore, the target environment can be seen as slightly more competitive than it used to be in previous years. Moreover, the described fluctuations in the levels of unemployment show that the organizations entering it need to develop flexibility and resilience to adjust to the rapid swings in the labor market trends.
Compared to the UK labor market environment, the one in the US shows a surprisingly rapid increase in the number of new job openings. According to the United States Department of Labor, the number of hiring options in the labor force market reached a historical high of 7,600,000,000 positions. The specified trend agrees with some of the changes in the current economic setting, such as the emergence of new technologies and tools for enhancing workplace performance, which requires high levels of skill. Moreover, the creation of additional job openings signifies that the US economy is growing explosively as American companies enter the global economy and develop more complex supply chains. Another important trend in the U.S. market is the clear dominance of five industries hiring labor force in the U.S. market, which include mining, transportation, manufacturing, hospitality, and warehousing. Therefore, the described tendency viewed in the US labor market is expected to become prevalent in the future.
The strategic positioning of companies in the labor market is critical to their ability to hire competent people and improve their performance. Therefore, companies have to seek ways of becoming an employer of choice and increase their Employee Value Proposition (EVP). The specified goals can be accomplished by revisiting the range of benefits offered to staff members and creating an appropriate workplace setting. Employees need to feel comfortable and confident in the workplace to deliver their best performance, which is why companies have to cater to their needs and focus on diversity-oriented corporate policies.
The trends depicted above can be linked to whether the target labor market can be characterized as either tight or loose. Whereas in tight conditions, the competition between candidates is visceral, the loose market implies a rather large range of options for candidates, which defies the necessity to engage in tight rivalry. Applying the specified notions to the contexts of the American and British labor markets, one will have to mention that the American one seems far looser, whereas the British one is much tighter, which can be explained by the current political situation.