30 Recruitment Statistics to Know for 2022

Industry Insights

As if 2020 didn’t shake up the employment landscape enough, 2021 brought even more changes and challenges to hiring – from talent turnover and labor shortages to continued remote work and COVID-19 recovery. Throughout the year, iHire’s research spotlighted the most pressing HR trends, unveiling insights from job seekers and recruiters alike on the hottest hiring topics. We’ve compiled the most significant data points from the past year here.

Whether you’re reflecting on 2021 or looking forward to 2022, this roundup of 30 recruitment statistics will inspire your hiring efforts in the new year and beyond.

Hiring Statistics

Of U.S. employers:

66.6% increased hiring in 2021.
20.6% are concerned with limited hiring budgets in 2022.
73.9% cited “too few qualified candidates” among their most significant online recruiting challenges.
77.0% anticipate a shortage of qualified applicants in the coming year.
46.8% are frustrated by unresponsive candidates (not hearing back from applicants after reaching out).
65.3% believe cover letters are important to their recruitment processes.
77.3% want applicants to customize their cover letters for a particular position.
46.0% always include the salary range for a position in their job posting.
58.9% increased reliance on job boards and online recruiting platforms in 2021.
70.6% regularly use referrals to find qualified new hires.

Job Searching Statistics

Of U.S. Job Seekers:

19.2% would abandon an online application online if it took more than 10 minutes to complete.
25.2% always customize their resume for each job application.
59.9% always research the company before applying for their jobs.
48.8% are challenged by applying for jobs and receiving no response from the recruiter.
38.7% said that a lack of responsiveness from employers would prevent them from interacting with their brand in the future.
91.0% expect employers to acknowledge that they’ve received their application.

The Great Resignation & Talent Retention Statistics

Of U.S. workers:

31.4% left a job voluntarily from September 2020 to September 2021.
21.1% made a major career change in the past year.
54.8% were satisfied with their current or most recent job.
70.9% would leave their job due to unsatisfactory pay.
69.8% would leave their job due to poor management/relationships with supervisors.
41.3% would stay with their employer if offered a more flexible schedule.

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COVID-19 Employment Statistics

14.6% of employers rehired employees who were laid off due to COVID-19.
37.4% of businesses expect workers’ hesitancy to return to in-person work to impact recruiting efforts in 2022.
58.8% of employees would leave their jobs due to either too few (41.9%) or too many (16.9%) COVID-19 restrictions.
19.8% of workers would leave their jobs due to employer-required COVID vaccinations.

Remote Work Statistics

47.8% of job seekers believe it is “very important” or “important” to find jobs that allow them to work from home.
31.8% of employees said remote work options would encourage them to stay with an employer if they were offered a better job elsewhere.
23.9% of workers would quit a job if hybrid work was not an option.
19.2% of job seekers foresee difficulty finding remote work in 2022.

For more hiring insights, remote work statistics, details on the Great Resignation, and other HR trends, check out our Employer Resource Center.

Data sources:

2021 State of Online Recruiting Report

2021 Talent Retention Report

What Candidates Want: Special Job Seeker Report

The Value of a Cover Letter