A shortage of talent has pushed companies to offer sign-on bonuses of up to $100,000 for some high-end speciality jobs, an analysis of job advertisements from 4,000 of the world’s largest companies concluded.
Sign-on bonus have increased across all sectors by 454%, rising to 57,123 advertised positions in August 2021 from 10,312 in August 2020, according to research released Tuesday by GlobalData DATA, , an analytics company.
The amount of job openings hit 10.9 million in July from a revised 10.2 million in June, the Labor Department said Wednesday, the fifth straight record high. A survey of economists by the Wall Street Journal had expected 10.2 million.
The U.S. government on Friday said the economy created just 235,000 new jobs last month — one-third of Wall Street’s DJIA, -0.30% forecast and the smallest gain since January. President Biden blamed the coronavirus delta variant.
“It’s plausible that many employees decided to ‘sit out’ the delta spike and use the time to search for jobs that offer better pay and safer work conditions,” Aneta Markowska and Thomas Simons, economists at Jefferies, wrote in a note.
Others, however, say people need more incentive to work. “A supply crunch for talent has pushed companies to go the extra mile,” the GlobalData report said. The healthcare sector saw the most sign-on bonuses, it added.
“ ‘We are seeing sign-on bonuses ranging from $150 to $100,000, as companies are desperately trying to entice new employees amid the current shortages.’ ”
An advertisement for a “physician of neurology multiple sclerosis” and also for a “general dentist” last month both had a sign-on bonus of up to $100,000. Sign-on bonuses were also offered for sales personnel and lorry drivers.
“We are seeing sign-on bonuses ranging from $150 to $100,000, as companies are desperately trying to entice new employees amid the current shortages,” said Ajay Thalluri, business fundamentals analyst at GlobalData.
“Roles that involve a shared workspace or are front office are the most likely to offer a sign-on bonus during the pandemic due to employees coming into contact with others,” he added.
While some companies offer incentives to attract talent, millions of Americans have been hit bad by the COVID-19 pandemic. Extra unemployment benefits helped keep the economy afloat during widespread job losses last year.
However, pandemic-related enhanced unemployment benefits have expired in states that did not already stop the pay ahead of the Sept. 6 federal expiration date. Some 11 million people have lost the extra $300 in weekly jobless pay this week.
Concerns about the costs of child care and the rise in the highly contagious delta variant are among other reasons cited by economists and public-health officials as to why companies are having difficulty filling low- and higher-wage jobs.
Also read: Delta blamed for poor jobs report, but too few people willing to work might be a bigger problem
