BambooHR
Workforce Insights
Monthly Report – February 2024
Welcome to the February edition of the BambooHR Workforce Insights report, where we delve into the latest trends shaping the world of employment.
Workforce Insights is powered by aggregated data trends from millions of employee data points in the US and across the globe.
Hiring, Job Openings & Turnover
- Hiring increased (US 25% / Global 27%) between December 2023 and February 2024.
- Hiring outpaced turnover again through January and February, both in the US and Globally, after falling short in December 2023. In 2022 and 2023, turnover outpaced hiring in December.
- Job openings increased (US 49% / Global 54%) between December 2023 and February 2024.
- This represents the highest proportion of job openings since March 2023.
- Turnover decreased (US 22% / Global 25%) from February 2023 to February 2024.
- 2023 had fewer hires than 2022 (US 18% / Global 21%).
- Every industry had hiring outpacing turnover in February 2024.
- The travel and hospitality industry and the construction industry displayed the highest proportion of hires in February, closely followed by the healthcare industry.
- Regular reports of layoffs may have workers in the tech industry feeling discouraged, but hiring and turnover were nearly equivalent for tech companies (7% more hires than turnover) in February.
Employee Performance
- January 2024 saw (US 21% / Global 28%) more reviews completed than in January 2023.
- Most employees just completed a review cycle, as reviews typically happen in the winter (November–January) or summer (June and July).
- US employees receive fewer peer reviews than in other countries—with 17 peer reviews for every manager review globally, and only 5 peer reviews per manager review in the US.
- The number of employee performance reviews is increasing (US 10% / Global 15%) annually.
PTO Trends
- January 2024 had the highest percentage (US 44%/ Global 56%) of employees making PTO requests since 2020.
- Nearly a third of employees ask for PTO every year (US 32% / Global 37%) each month, but only around half (US 51% / Global 49%) of those requests are getting approved.
- PTO requests have increased annually, an average of (US 9% / Global 11%) since 2019, but approvals have only increased (US 8% / Global 9%), creating a wider gap of unapproved PTO.
- Finance topped the charts with the biggest increase in PTO requests in February, while food & bev employees hardly applied for PTO.
- Maine & Oklahoma top PTO requests—while Puerto Rico & Utah top approvals despite being lowest for PTO requests
About BambooHR
BambooHR® is the leading provider of cloud-based HR software solutions that empower HR professionals to manage, support, and grow what matters most—their people. As a company, BambooHR's mission is to set people free to do great work, by automating, centralizing, and connecting employee data all in one place to support better decisions.
The platform’s intuitive and intentionally designed payroll, time tracking, benefits, performance, and reporting solutions support the full repertoire of HR responsibilities—all backed by award-winning customer service. Over the past 15 years, BambooHR has been the trusted partner of HR professionals at 32 thousand companies in over 150 countries and 50 industries, for supporting millions of users throughout their employee experience.
Methodology
All source data is from the BambooHR platform, gathered between December 2018 and February 2024, and includes data points from over 4.3 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.
Looking for More HR Data Insights? Keep Reading
Why Is Everyone So Unhappy at Work? BambooHR® Employee Satisfaction Shows 2023 Holiday Blues
Read the Q4 2023 report to see how the trends are changing, with industry-specific recommendations for HR leaders.
Compensation Trends for 2024: Deflation, Transparency, and Benefits
24% of workers say they’d be willing to take a salary cut if it meant job security for the next year. Read the report to understand how workers are feeling and why.
31% of HR Managers Say They Need Better Employee Data Protection
Discover insights into employee perception and experience with data security—and how to better protect your workforce data.