We spend roughly one-third of our lives at work.
That’s nearly 100,000 hours throughout a lifetime, and it doesn’t consider the 100 hours per year we spend commuting.
Those are high stakes, so it’s important to find a great job.
We gathered the latest resume facts, job search stats and other career research to find the most important data points every job seeker should know. Consider this your definitive guide for employment and career statistics in 2022.
We divided our research into seven stories:
Workplace Stats and Trends
HR Statistics for 2022
Job Search Statistics 2022
Women in the Workforce
Millennials in the Workplace
Career/
Employment Stats for Journalists
To whet your appetite, here are 24 points of interest:
You should be thorough and precise when you write your resume.
1 Hiring managers say that customizing your resume for every job is the No. 1 way of getting an advantage over other applicants.
2 Typos are the most common reason resumes are tossed in the trash.
3 A huge majority of HR professionals (85%) uncovered a lie or misrepresentation on a candidate’s resume or job application during the screening process.
4 Beware of racial bias in the resume review process. Studies have shown hiring managers respond more favorably to resumes that don’t include ethnic details.
Our career research shows it's easier to find workplace satisfaction in a booming job market.
5 Job satisfaction is the highest it’s been in over two decades (54%), but worker engagement is lagging (34%).
6 A majority of workers remain open to new opportunities, and they’re getting more comfortable negotiating for higher salaries. Today, 60% of job seekers report being comfortable negotiating their compensation, up from 51% in 2018.
7 Job-hopping is declining. Only 16 percent of Americans say they change jobs every 1-3 years, down from 20 percent in 2017.
8 Several studies say that company culture is the No. 1 influence on employee satisfaction, especially for people who are highly educated and have children.
We found hiring managers and recruiters are very open about what they're looking for from job applicants in 2022.
9 In interviews, hiring managers are most interested in hearing about your experiences managing conflict (69%) and learning from mistakes (68%).
10 These days, hiring managers and HR professionals say they’re more likely to select a candidate based on their emotional intelligence than IQ (71%).
11 The No. 1 way hiring managers find candidates is through employee referrals. When they look outside their network, recruiters are partial to LinkedIn and Indeed.
12 Recruiters say their biggest challenge is finding enough good candidates in a tight labor market.
And job seekers increasingly have the upper hand in landing the job they want.
13 New jobs are not being distributed equally: 27 percent of rural workers are having a hard time finding a job (compared with 17 percent of city dwellers), and 21 percent of those without a college degree are having a hard time (compared with 16 percent of those with a degree).
14 A tighter labor market has job seekers feeling bold: 19% of workers say they turned down a job after signing an official offer, and 83% of employers say they’ve been “ghosted” at some point in the hiring process.
15 People are increasingly applying for jobs on mobile devices, hurting application completion rates. Job seekers complete 53% fewer applications on mobile devices, and it takes them 80% longer to do so.
16 Applicants’ No. 1 complaint about companies is that they’re being left in the dark on the status of their application: 72% of people say they’d appreciate an email acknowledgment when their application is received.
More women than men are attaining advanced degrees. But even with degrees, women aren't being equally represented in leadership roles, showing that the glass ceiling is still real.
17 In law firms, women represent (45%) of associates, but only (22%) of partners, and in academia, women have earned the majority of doctorate degrees, but they only make up (32%) of full professors.
18 Men dominate the overwhelming majority of corporate boards. In 2018, men held (76%) of S&P 500 board seats while women held (24%).
19 According to the National Women’s Law Center, women in the United States still earn only 82 cents for every dollar paid to a male counterpart. Women of color have an even greater gender wage gap and significant cumulative lifetime wage loss.
20 Eighty-six percent of women recall being taught to be nice to others growing up. Forty-four percent say they were taught to be a good leader, and (34%) were taught to share their point of view.
Born between 1981 and 1996, millennials currently comprise 35% of the U.S. workforce — with career development as their top priority.
21 Forty-five percent of millennials say a job that accelerates their career development is “very important” to them, compared to 31% of Gen Xers and 18% of baby boomers.
22 A healthy benefits package is a huge factor, with 96% of millennials stating they take benefits into account when applying for a job.
23 Most feel compelled to stay connected with work. Nearly 63% of Gen Zers and 52% of millennials check work email or texts outside office hours.
24 Millennials are just as willing as Gen X to stay on their career path — as long as it’s offering them plenty of opportunities. Forty-three% of millennials listed ‘Dissatisfaction with pay’ as their top reason for leaving a job, with 35% citing ‘Not enough opportunities to advance.’
From the first resume submission to the final interview, you can use our reports on employment trends and career research at every step of your job search. Read these career statistics, get informed, and you’ll be better positioned to land a great job.
About the Author
About the Author
Nina Paczka
Career Advice Contributor
Nina Pączka is a career advisor and job search expert. Her professional advice, insight, and guidance help people find a satisfying job and pursue a career. Nina’s mission is to support job seekers in their path leading to finding a perfect job.
As seen in*
