Recruitment Statistics

Have you ever wondered how many applicants are there for a job? Or how long it takes for a company to recruit its employees? Or how much it costs to hire someone? Or does your process of recruiting need an update? Wouldn’t it be helpful for you to find all the recruitment statistics in one place? Of course, yes.

So, we did some stats hunting and put together the best and recent recruitment statistics. Whether you are a job seeker or a recruiter, this article on recruitment statistics will surely help you out. Without any further ado, let’s hop into the latest recruitment statistics.

On this page, you’ll find:


Key Recruitment Statistics

Here are the top stats for a quick look from the article below:


  • In 2021, the top 5 recruiting priorities of recruitment professionals were: Improving the quality of hire (52%), Increasing retention rate (24%), Improving time-to-hire (23%), Growing talent pipeline (22%), and Diversity hiring (22%). (Jobvite)
  • In 2020, 66% of staffing and recruitment professionals viewed globalization as an opportunity. (Bullhorn)
  • The recruitment industry in the U.K. is worth £35.7 billion. (Talint International)
  • Rather than permanent placements, temporary and contract placements add more than 80% of the value to the industry. (Talint International)
  • The global workforce is made up of 70% of passive talent who aren’t actively seeking a job, and the remaining 30% are actively seeking a job. (LinkedIn)
  • Career opportunity is the number one reason for people to change jobs. (LinkedIn)
  • While searching for jobs, 79% of job applicants use social media. (Glassdoor)
  • 80% of employers say they can find passive candidates by social recruiting. (Betterteam)
  • The Australian workforce has around 11.9 million people, with 38% of employees being open to a career change. (Orchard HRO)
  • In Australia, in any one day, there are 91,000 unique job titles on Indeed. (Orchard HRO)

General Recruitment Statistics

Recruiting an employee for your company can be a very tricky process. Finding a person who can tick all the checkboxes on your list is a difficult process. Recruitment is an essential function of any organization. It’s not a job that is going away anytime soon. To manage the process of attracting, hiring, and retaining great employees, you’ll need to have a piece of sound knowledge on the most recent and relevant data. Let us look into some general recruitment statistics which will surely help you in building a better recruitment marketing strategy.


  •  In 2021, the top 5 recruiting priorities of recruitment professionals were: Improving the quality of hire (52%), Increasing retention rate (24%), Improving time-to-hire (23%), Growing talent pipeline (22%), and Diversity hiring (22%). (Jobvite)
  •  In 2020, 66% of staffing and recruitment professionals viewed globalization as an opportunity. (Bullhorn)
  •  87% of recruiters feel that an entry-level candidate is competitive with a four-year college degree. (ICIMS)
  •  To screen candidates, 8 out of 10 recruiters use references. (SHRM)
  •  Due to the prolonged screening process, companies lose as many as 89% of potential candidates. (Learning Hub)
  •  Before applying for a job opening, 75% of candidates will research a company’s reputation. (Learning Hub).
  •  Unemployment is expected to rise to 8.6% in 2021 in the European Union because of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Statista)
  •  The unemployment rate of young workers aged 16-24 jumped from 8.4% in spring 2019 to 24.4% in spring 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. (EPI)
  • Employees were reluctant to change jobs at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. This resulted in a 47% drop in applications across all industries. (TalentLyft)
  • During the COVID-19 pandemic, 64.7% of IT professionals were worried about losing their job. (CV Library).

Recruitment statistics in the U.K

In the U.K., the recruitment industry is highly competitive with a rapidly growing and evolving rate. It is a must to understand the state of the market and the opportunity available if you are thinking of starting your agency. Here is a collection of really important statistics about the size of the industry and the challenges faced by recruiters today in the U.K.


  • The recruitment industry in the U.K. is worth £35.7 billion. (Talint International)
  •  Rather than permanent placements, temporary and contract placements add more than 80% of the value to the industry. (Talint International)
  •  In the U.K., there were 39,232 recruitment agencies in 2018. (Talint International)
  •  Before 2008, only 16% of all recruitment agencies were in existence. (Recruitment Buzz)
  •  85% of contract positions lasted for 12 or more weeks, with 45% of those contracts lasting for six or more months. (REC)
  •  In 2019, a 0.6% increase was seen in the number of job vacancies. (CV Library)
  •  Advertised roles received on average 10.8% more applications in 2019. (CV Library)
  •  In 2019, a 3.2% increase in the average salary was noted. (ONS)
  •  45% of recruiters feel that the hardest generation to target is the Millennials. (Bullhorn)
  •  Tight talent pools were the biggest challenge for 78% of recruitment industry professionals. (Bullhorn)

LinkedIn Recruitment Statistics

Over the past few years, using social media to attract job seekers and convert their talent has become one of the biggest trends in the recruitment process. One such social media platform is LinkedIn. It was introduced into the American business as an employment-oriented online service. It operates by using websites and mobile apps. Hers is a list of statistics that will inform your hiring strategies.


  • The global workforce is made up of 70% of passive talent who aren’t actively seeking a job, and the remaining 30% are actively seeking a job. (LinkedIn)
  •  Career opportunity is the number one reason for people to change jobs. (LinkedIn)
  •  Compensation (49%), professional development (33%), and better work/life balance (29%) are the most important factors in accepting a new job. (LinkedIn)
  •  By recruiting through their employees’ networks, companies can expand their talent pool by ten times. (LinkedIn)
  •  Company websites (68%), online professional networks (LinkedIn), and social media (Facebook, Twitter) are the most effective talent branding tools. (LinkedIn)
  •  94% of the candidates feel that they will accept a job offer faster when they are contacted by their prospective manager. (LinkedIn)
  •  To inform their career decision, about 75% of people who recently changed jobs used LinkedIn. (LinkedIn)
  •  With LinkedIn recruiting tools, top recruiters are 60% more engaged. (LinkedIn)
  •  Chances of getting an InMail response are increased by 27% when referencing a former employer in common. (LinkedIn)
  •  When you send an InMail to someone who shares a group with you, you are 21% more likely to get a response from a candidate. (LinkedIn)

Social Media in Recruitment Statistics

Over the last few years, the way companies hire and recruit top talent has evolved. With top brands dominating immediate interest, it’s hard for companies to stand out in the world. This is where social media recruiting plays an important role. Social media platforms enable the companies to be recognized, to have their jobs shared, and helps them to connect to potential hires. Now, let us look into some social media recruiting statistics.


  • While searching for jobs, 79% of job applicants use social media. (Glassdoor)
  •  80% of employers say they can find passive candidates by social recruiting. (Betterteam)
  •  With social media, 70% of hiring managers say they have successfully hired. (Betterteam)
  •  Compared to job boards, job ads, recruiting agencies, and recruiting events; social media and professional networks are ranked as the most useful job search resource by job seekers. (CareerArc)
  •  Current employees are ranked as the most trusted source by job seekers for information about a company. (CareerArc)
  •  With 84% of organizations currently using social media and 9% of organizations planning to use them, recruiting via social media is growing. (SHRM)
  •  Social media is used by at least 58% of U.S. consumers to follow a brand. (MarketingSherpa)
  •  Through a social media platform, 73% of Millennials found their last position. (CareerProfiles)
  •  Over any other kind of marketing, promotion, or advertising, 92% of people will trust recommendations that they get from friends and family. (Nielsen)
  •  If job seekers heard about a new job opportunity through a personal connection in their network, then 65% of them would consider it. (Monster)

Recruitment Statistics in Australia

The COVID-19 pandemic is posing a significant impact on the job market in Australia. In the coming months, there will be greater competition for jobs and only a few advertised positions will be available. Given the circumstances, it is important to know what employers want, and how to demonstrate your suitability. Now, let us look into some key recruitment statistics in Australia.


  • The Australian workforce has around 11.9 million people, with 38% of employees being open to a career change. (Orchard HRO)
  •  In Australia, in any one day, there are 91,000 unique job titles on Indeed. (Orchard HRO)
  •  To fill in a vacant position, it takes an average of 68 days. (Majer Recruitment)
  •  79% of Australian talent and HR leaders say that the topmost priority in their company is talent. (LinkedIn)
  •  37% of roles that are open beyond 90 days are sales roles. (Orchard HRO)
  •  It takes an average of 89 days to fill a sales role and 94 days to fill software roles. (Orchard HRO)
  •  An estimated $5000 is the average cost per hire. (Majer Recruitment)
  •  On average, 50-60 applicants apply for a particular job. (Majer Recruitment)
  •  Talent leaders would invest in branding and tools if money weren’t a constraint. (LinkedIn)
  •  Company reputation is the most important thing which attracts a candidate towards that company. (LinkedIn)

Frequently Asked Questions

InMail is LinkedIn’s messaging feature. You can send messages to anyone on LinkedIn, even to people outside your network by using InMail. When compared to a traditional email, people are far more willing to respond to an InMail. In LinkedIn, the average response rate is 85%. This is 3 times more than the response rate of a traditional email.

In South Africa, the employment rate increased from 36.26% in the second quarter of 2020 to 37.51% in the third quarter of 2020.

LinkedIn is the largest professional network. For many jobs, having a LinkedIn profile is counted as a prerequisite. A career-minded executive will surely have an updated LinkedIn profile. Candidates are found on LinkedIn by many recruiters. With LinkedIn recruiting tools, top recruiters are more engaged.

The formula for the Quality of Fill is:

Quality of Fill = (PR+HP+HR)/N

Where PR is the average job performance rating of new hires;

HP is the % of new hires reaching acceptable productivity with an acceptable time frame;

 HR is the % of new hires retained after one year; and

N is the number of indicators.

About 70-80% of jobs are never posted publicly on job sites. Through personal and professional connections as much as 80% of jobs are filled.

Conclusion

The latest recruitment statistics show how social media plays an important role in hiring people. The fast-changing technology landscape is an important reason for the continuous change in recruiting trends. Before considering a job, job seekers are extensively researching the company. How people are searching for a job and how much they value the job is changing. Being updated is of prime importance when searching for a job. I hope this collection of recruitment statistics was helpful for you.

Author: Shubham Calmblay

Shubham Calmblay, founder of appsthatdeliver.com, has a decade of experience with various Google products. He has authored 1,000+ guides for ATD, published on prestigious tech blogs. His work has garnered recognition from Protocol.com, Leadsbridge.com, MadMobile.com, and numerous other leading publications and corporations.