Good news for staffing and recruiting professionals: More Americans are quitting their jobs

As a staffing and recruiting professional, what constitutes good news? Could it be more new clients signing on for your services? Or, could an increase in the number of Americans quitting their jobs be the positive news you are looking for? A recent report from the U.S. Department of Labor claims that more Americans are quitting their jobs, which suggests to experts that people are growing more confident in the job market. And that means that your potential pool of candidates could be growing.

The Associated Press reported that the number of workers who quit their job in April 2013 increased 7.2 percent to 2.25 million. This increase in the number of workers who quit their jobs in April is less than February’s level, which was the highest recorded in 4.5 years. While more Americans decided to quit – more also found new career opportunities. Overall hiring also increased in April 2013, as employers filled about 4.4 million jobs during that month – a 5 percent increase from March.

The report from the Department of Labor indicates that the number of professionals seeking new opportunities is on the rise and more employers are looking to either expand their staff or replace roles that have been left vacant. While the economy has not reached the positive level seen before the Great Recession, it is showing signs of steady improvement.

Employers are still cautious of the state of the economy, however, staffing companies are seeing more orders for temporary positions as employers look to bring on staff to handle their short-term business needs without committing to full-time employees.

“We’re still stuck in this labor market where employers don’t have a lot of conviction,” said Lou Crandall, chief economist at Wrightson ICAP LLC in Jersey City, New Jersey, according to Bloomberg. “You’re still talking about levels that are bouncing around in a range without a whole lot of upward tilt to it.”

Staffing and recruiting professionals who are noticing the uptick in the number of candidates looking for new opportunities on the market may find that they need more capable recruiting software. As has always been the case in staffing and recruiting, reducing your ‘time to fill’ ratio is a key measure of your success in a competitive market, and high performance staffing and recruiting software plays a crucial role in this.

As the economy continues to improve, investments in the right process-management tools will become increasingly important. How is your recruitment firm prepared to deal with the influx in business?