When it comes to natural resources, people are considered to be “it” as businesses look to hire and hire and expand in South Florida and markets across the United States. The midpoint of 2016 is a perfect time to assess the labor market’s health. With today’s economic uncertainty, companies still remain positive despite such challenges.South Florida’s hiring outlook continues to grow. South Florida employers are expected to hire at an “optimistic” pace July through September, according to a Manpower staffing survey recently released.

The research had regional employers surveyed and found that 22 percent plan to hire more employees during that  July through September period. It also highlighted that 72 percent expect to maintain staffing levels, while 1 percent indicated that they would decrease staffing, and 5 percent remain uncertain of hiring plans.

“Fifty years ago, companies opened new locations to be near lumber, copper, or resources needed for their businesses. Today, people are the natural resources,” said Meredith Amdur, an analytics expert at advisory firm CEB. According to a survey of 229 executives released by real-estate services firm CBRE Group, Inc. in March, half of corporate real-estate executives rated talent availability as the leading consideration in moves and expansions. The survey also highlighted that around 44 percent of the respondents said their real-estate departments report to finance, operations or procurement leaders, while 17 percent. answer to HR.

Economists are saying that fewer workers and more employment that is presently available in the economic recovery, South Florida companies are raising wages as employers. These employers will have to be able to stay competitive in pay rate in order to keep retention and attract top talent. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, South Florida outpaced the nation in wage increases of 3.5 percent compared with 2 percent across the states for the year that ended in March.
Last month, Brilliant released its Q3 2016 Hiring Forecast. Findings of the report indicates that companies have strong hiring plans for the third quarter despite recent economic uncertainties. Brilliant’s CEO Jim Wong, CPA (Inactive) said, “The study brings important insight into the future of accounting, finance and IT, and the climate of businesses overall. The continued strength in hiring plans indicates that businesses expect continued growth and/or stability in their business, and they plan to fill the vacancies as quickly as possible. This is a remarkable degree of optimism despite some economic headwinds.”