BambooHR
Workforce Insights
Monthly Report – December 2024
Welcome to the December edition of the BambooHR Workforce Insights report, where we dive into the latest trends shaping the world of employment.
Workforce Insights is powered by aggregated data trends from the millions of admins, managers, and employees who use BambooHR in the US and across the globe.
Hiring Hits a Five-Year Low in December
The end of Q4 has been marked by a significant decrease in turnover and hiring globally, with hiring hitting a five-year low. In the US, these trends are mirrored, with turnover dropping to 2020 levels and hiring reaching its lowest point in the last five years.
In all industries, hiring decreased, with the global hiring dropping to 1.7% and the US hiring to 1.9% in December 2024.
Reviews continued to spike as the year ended, with an overall increase of 14% in reviews in the US since November 2024. This surge indicates organizations are dedicated to assessing and enhancing performance as they prepare for the new year.
December PTO requests have decreased globally. Construction and education saw the highest PTO approval, despite having low request proportions. The regions with the lowest PTO request were Asia Pacific and Europe, both at 42%.
BambooHR’s platform data, sourced from over 4.82 million employee data points across the globe, provides a global perspective on these evolving trends and offers valuable insights for businesses aiming to foster a culture of continuous improvement and engagement.
Hiring, Job Openings & Turnover
Hiring
- In the US:
- From November to December 2024, hiring decreased by 12%.
- Year-over-year, hiring decreased by 8% from December 2023.
- Globally:
- From November to December 2024, hiring decreased by 22%.
- Year-over-year, hiring decreased by 10% from December 2023.
Job Openings
- In the US:
- From November to December 2024, job openings decreased by 13%.
- Job openings decreased by 21% from December 2023.
- Globally:
- From November to December 2024, job openings decreased by 10%.
- Job openings increased by 22% from December 2023.
Turnover
- In the US:
- Turnover decreased by 1.3% from November to December 2024.
- Year-over-year, turnover increased 17% from December 2023.
- Globally:
- Turnover decreased by 8% from November to December 2024.
- Year-over-year, turnover is down 19% from December 2023.
In December 2024, there was a significant decrease in both hiring and turnover globally, with hiring reaching its lowest point in five years.
Month over Month (MoM),
Year over Year (YoY)
Industry Trends: Hiring, Job Openings & Turnover
- All industries saw a decrease in hiring and job openings from November to December.
- The travel / hospitality, healthcare, and construction industries stayed consistent at the top of hiring in December.
- Education and technology continue to have the lowest proportion of hires, with both industries showing minimal hiring activity at 1.4%.
- The technology sector saw a significant increase in turnover (12%), followed by the construction industry (10%) from November to December.
- The technology and restaurant, food, and beverage sectors had the most notable decreases in job openings from November to December, at 19% and 18% respectively.
December 2024
Proportion of Total Employees
Regional Trends: Hiring, Job Openings & Turnover
- The Middle East and Africa (MEA) and Asia Pacific had the lowest turnover of all regions.
- Latin America (LATAM), Asia Pacific and Europe continued to be the lowest job posting regions.
- North America had the highest percentage of hires in proportion to total employees, while MEA + Europe had the lowest percentage of hires.
- North America, LATAM and Europe tie for the highest turnover.
Manager & Peer Reviews
The spike in peer reviews continued in December 2024. In the last month of the year, we observed notable trends in manager and peer reviews both globally and in the US:
- In the US, peer reviews showed a positive trend, increasing by 8% month-over-month and 11% year-over-year. Manager reviews, however, experienced a slight dip of 8% month-over-month but still managed a 10% increase year-over-year.
- Overall, the combined peer and manager reviews in the US grew by 14% month-over-month and 11% year-over-year.
- Globally, peer reviews also showed a strong upward trend, with a 12% increase month-over-month and a 5% increase year-over-year. Manager reviews saw a significant boost, rising by 32% month-over-month and 7% year-over-year.
- The overall trend in reviews globally increased by 13% month-over-month and 5% year-over-year.
Month over Month (MoM),
Year over Year (YoY)
Employee PTO Requests & Approvals
Globally, PTO requests decreased in December, but in the US, there was a slight increase.
US PTO:
- In December, 38% of employees in the US requested PTO, and 48% of those requests were approved. This represents a 7% increase in PTO requests and a 3% rise in approval compared to the previous month.
- We saw a 5% increase from December 2023 in requested PTO, and a 1% increase in approvals.
Global PTO:
- Globally, 43% of employees requested time off in December, but only 47% of those requests were approved. Compared to the previous month, the percentage of PTO requests globally dropped by 4%, and the approval decreased by 1%.
- We saw a 2% increase from December 2023 in requested PTO, and a 2% decrease in approvals.
Regional Trends: Employee PTO Requests & Approvals
In December 2024, regional PTO requests and approvals continued to show distinct patterns:
- Europe: Stands out in December with the highest percentage of PTO requests (60%) but the lowest approval (44%).
- Asia Pacific: Saw 42% of employees requesting PTO, with an approval of 45%.
- Middle East/Africa: Had the second highest PTO approvals at 56%, with 41% PTO requested.
- North America: Saw the lowest percentage of PTO requests in December of all the regions (40%), and was right in the middle for approvals (47%).
- Latin America: Had the highest percentage of approvals at 57%, and the second highest percentage requested at 43%.
Industry Trends: Employee PTO Requests & Approvals
- Constructio n and education saw the highest PTO approval, despite having lower proportions of PTO requests.
- Finance and technology were the top industries with the highest proportion of PTO requests in December, with the nonprofit sector following closely behind.
- As we typically see, the travel/hospitality and restaurant, food, and beverage industries had the lowest PTO requested.
Methodology
All source data is from the BambooHR® platform, gathered between December 2018 and December 2024, and includes over 4.82 million employee data points across the globe.
The data includes employee and manager performance scores, PTO requests, and other data points that have been analyzed in an aggregated, anonymized way to protect the privacy of employees and the integrity of the metrics.
Turnover includes all types of separation of an employee from their company, including voluntary and involuntary separations.
About BambooHR
BambooHR® is the leading HR software solution that sets people free to do great work by managing the complex work of supporting employees and succeeding as a business, while giving leaders all the data they need to make informed strategic decisions.
Intuitively designed and easy-to-use benefits administration, payroll, performance, time tracking, and reporting where everything works together means less focus on process and more focus on growing what matters most—people.
Over the past 15 years, BambooHR has been the trusted partner of HR professionals at 33 thousand companies with employees in over 190 countries and 50 industries, supporting millions of users throughout their employee experience.
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