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2015-06-19
Orlando, where hiring decisions are made quickly
June 18, 2015
By Paul Brinkmann, Reporter, Orlando Sentinel (original article)
Hiring decisions are taking longer and longer to make in the U.S., as the economy improves and many jobs become more highly specialized and more skilled, a new survey says.
But hiring decisions are made relatively quickly in Orlando compared to other U.S. cities, the survey from GlassDoor said.
Miami was the top city in the U.S. for shortest hiring times. Orlando ranked No. 3, and Tampa ranked No. 5.
The reason for Orlando’s shorter hiring time is probably a combination of two factors, according to experts:
First, Orlando has a large segment of unskilled labor in food service, retail and hospitality jobs connected to the tourism sector. The other Florida cities are probably part of the same tourism-related outlook, said Glass Door chief economist Andrew Chamberlain.
Second, Orlando’s job growth has been surging in recent years, ranking among the highest ratios in the country. Much of the growth has been in hospitality, but it’s also in professional services and technology – such as Deloitte and Verizon adding more than 2,000 jobs combined in the Lake Mary area.
Making decisions about hiring unskilled labor requires fewer background checks and less time to match up skill sets with job descriptions, Chamberlain said.
“Some hospitality jobs are more complex, but in general food service and retail jobs take a shorter time to fill,” he said.
However, another city in the top five for short hiring times was Austin, Texas, which is normally associated with more tech jobs in its semiconductor industry and related fields.
But Austin has something in common with Orlando – rapid job growth. Both cities ranked at the top of recent lists for rapid job growth.
Overall, though, the trend continues toward longer hiring times, Chamberlain said.
“There’s been a big shift away from simpler, more routine jobs. For example, there’s really no bookkeepers anymore… it’s all QuickBooks and similar software.”
Having a company take longer to hire someone can be more expensive, but it can also result in a better fit, and less turnover.
David Sprinkle, a recruiter with Veritas Recruiting in Lake Mary, said recovery from the recession necessarily means faster hiring for some companies.
“During the recession, many firms were only hiring because they had to. They needed quality people, and they had more options to choose from,” Sprinkle said.
He said Florida cities like Miami, Orlando and Tampa have relatively fewer large corporate headquarters and bigger concentrations of small and mid-sized companies.
strong>He said any region that has venture capital and private equity in play usually has faster hiring, which could also be a factor for Orlando and Austin.