It’s about time to start looking ahead, to a new year and a fresh start. What should we expect in 2021, in terms of general employment trends and workforce projections?

Remote Work Will Continue

Although it seems promising that a vaccine for COVID may be released within the next few months, society won’t just revert back to 2019 overnight. Remote work and dispersed teams will be the norm for the foreseeable future, especially as many companies have realized that not only does it work, but it can reduce overhead spending to boot.

“The researched-based consulting firm Global Workplace Analytics estimates that... 25-30% of the workforce will be working at home multiple days per week by the end of 2021.” (Forbes)

For workers, this means continuing to find ways to balance home life, work life, parent life, tutor life, caregiver life, etc. For companies it means leaning into compassion and empathy for their employees’ individual situations.

Some Industries Are Booming...

Logistics, healthcare, tech, and manufacturing are all experiencing hiring booms.

• With hospitals at capacity, we need healthcare workers like RNs, LPNs, and nursing aides more than ever before.

• Society is ordering more goods and services online, which means logistics and freight companies are in overdrive moving those products across the country, and the tech and software companies developing and maintaining the security of e-commerce sites desperately need staff to keep up.

• Manufacturing is struggling to keep up with demand as well – for PPE and healthcare supplies on top of all the technology needed to help people work from home.

...While Others Are Struggling

Many employers are planning to cut even more of their workforce. Some of the industries struggling to retain workers are travel and hospitality, retail, media, and fuel.

These types of businesses already had mass layoffs and furloughs at the beginning of the pandemic, and many are expecting that trend to continue into 2021.

Retail may experience a resurgence during the 2020 holiday season, but it is likely to show up as increased hiring in fulfilment centers and delivery services more than in-store personnel.

General Expectations

As cases of COVID rise in the US, talks of another economic shutdown surge, and the time spent in this “unprecedented” pandemic lengthens, expect essential industries to increase or maintain hiring, while non-essential industries brace for more layoffs.

Manufacturing, logistics, e-commerce, and healthcare show little sign of slowing down, while hotels and airlines, retail stores, and media companies struggle in a world where people rarely leave their homes.

Remote work is expected to increase as more and more companies realize the benefits of having a distributed workforce, but this places increased pressure on remote employees to be productive while dealing with a pandemic and all the pieces that come with it.

Remember that Skywalk Group is here to help – whether you need more staff, need help orchestrating staff reductions, or need to create stronger guidelines around working from home.

By Jessica Palmer