Despite tech layoffs, your job is probably safe

• Some fear that more companies will follow the lead of Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg’s laidoff employees.
• Insider was told this by tech experts.
• A recession will cause unemployment to rise and it might take longer for a new job to be found.

Layoffs are back in the news as Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Meta respectively axe their employees.

Nearly 15,000 workers lost their jobs at the two companies this month, with Lyft as well as Salesforce cutting roles.

While many are worried about more layoffs in the future, especially as the probability of a recession increases, there are still reasons for optimism.

Insider heard from industry experts that many employers cannot afford to layoff large numbers of workers if it is important to make it to the other side. Despite this, unemployment is likely to rise and you may receive less from your employer.

Massive economic headwinds — but a tight labor market

Large tech companies have seen layoffs, and they may have arrived in a particular context. However, they also found themselves in an increasingly bearish economic environment.

Companies are now paying more for borrowing as the interest rates rise. This is due to decades of high inflation. One of the most significant trends in digital-ad revenue is being reported by big tech. major signal that the economy might be faltering.

But the macroeconomic picture remains complex. Insider reported that the “”growth-recession” forecast for 2023The labor market will be relatively unaffected by this. 

Bank of America predicts US unemployment to rise to 6.5%However, this would still be lower than the double-digit unemployment rates seen in the previous two recessions.

Glassdoor’s chief economist Daniel Zhao said that although the recent tech layoffs were not enough to lower unemployment, they were still a sign of some sort. He said that it was reasonable to assume that the market for jobs will slow down if the economy shrinks further.

Even so, employees still quit at a high rate. with 4.1 million Americans walking away from their jobs in September. Industry experts say there’s a reason employers don’t rush to cut jobs as the economy slows.

Your employer may want to keep you around.

Ravin Jesuthasan, a global-transformation leader at the asset-management company Mercer, told Insider that even as costs rise for employers, layoffs are simply not an option for many businesses.

He said, “I don’t think companies got ahead in hiring because it was so hard to find talent.” 

Jesuthasan reported that most CEOs were planning to reduce their workforce by 2023, while half of them had increased their hiring budgets. 

“Overall, we’re likely to see a decrease in force,” he stated. However, he noted that we still lack some critical skills sets.

The participation rate in the labor force — the share of people working or looking for work — was at 62.2% in October1.2% lower than the January 2020 rate.

Insider was informed by Nick South, a Boston Consulting Group managing Director, that this indicates that employers are still having trouble finding enough high-caliber talent.

“They’re very conscious about how difficult it’s been for people to attract and keep them, so they’re really cognizant of how you keep those people together with a really compelling proposition,” he said.

South stated that the skills shortage will make it more likely that employees will be able to bargain better than they were in previous recessions.

Choice may be limited

The “End of the Road” may be what is ending, however.Great Resignation“A pandemic-driven period characterised by high demand for workers, with low supply. Jesuthasan stated that employees will stay in place longer if there is talk of a recession or falling vacancies.

Columbia University professor Stephan Meier said that it would be more difficult to find jobs and that employees might not be as relaxed about looking for a new job. 

“Before, you would say that you go to the beach, or you go skiing for a while, then you take up another job with a better salary. He said that he believes that will change during this downturn.

There are several signs that employers are becoming more bold. A recent Glassdoor studyIt was found that ghosting of employees has tripled since 2019. Zhao said that companies may be less inclined to invest in the candidate experience if the labor market is tighter. 

Meier stated that employees will still be able to enjoy perks that were not available before the pandemic. Zhao called this a structural shift that was made to last.

Meier stated that employers who take this downturn and say “Oh, let’s transfer back the power and treat employees badly”, are not going to succeed.