80+ Important HR Statistics & Trends [for 2024]

10 Key HR Statistics

HR plays a vital role in supporting an organization’s mission and objectives by attracting and retaining talent, creating a positive work environment, managing employee relations, etc.

To create successful initiatives, HR professionals should keep track of specific metrics and proven practices. In this section, we cover 10 key HR statistics every professional in the industry should get familiar with to help their organization grow.

1. Good workplace culture is one of the best ways to keep employees happy. According to LinkedIn, 7 out of 10 employees wouldn’t work for a top company with a bad work environment.
2. According to the same article, 25% of employees would change jobs because of poor workplace culture. 
3. In addition, 65% of employees would rather tolerate lower pay than a bad work environment.
4. Hiring the right people for the right positions is one of the most important parts of HR. Current research shows that top performers are up to 400% more productive than average. The productivity goes even higher for complex jobs.
5. According to MetLife, job satisfaction levels are the lowest they’ve been in the last 20 years.
6. The same report lists health insurance, 401(k) or other, dental insurance, paid leave, and vision insurance as the five most important benefits employers can offer. 7 out of 10 candidates consider these a must.
7. You need to be quick to hire top talent. According to OfficeVibe, the best candidates find a job within 10 days.
8. 37% of employees feel they would be more motivated to perform better if they received personal recognition from their supervisors.
9. The need for employees continues to grow, as 2022 saw around 11 million job openings each month. That’s 1.8 job openings for every unemployed person on the market.
10. People are looking for a job that gives them purpose. As much as 65% of employees report that the COVID-19 pandemic made them rethink the importance of their job and work-life balance.

10 General HR Statistics

To create a warm and productive work environment for their employees, companies need to keep up with the latest HR trends and developments to find effective solutions to modern HR challenges. 

In this section, we go over some general HR statistics to help you understand where HR is heading in 2023:

1. There are over 380,000 businesses with almost one million HR employees, according to IBISWorld.
2. The HR industry is expected to grow 12.8% annually, which is faster than the US market average.
3. First-year employees are most likely to leave their job (33%), according to the Work Institute.
4. A Career Interest Survey discovered that Gen Z chooses jobs based on the treatment of workers. This is followed by employer flexibility, quality of life, and corporate social responsibility.
5. The same report discovered that people were four times more likely to choose your company in the future if you offer them constructive feedback.
6. According to the State of the American Workplace Report, 68% of employees feel they are overqualified for their current position.
7. Jobvite 2017 Recruiting Funnel Benchmark Report states that internal hiring is six times more successful than other sources of hiring.
8. According to an SHRM Benchmarking Report, it costs $4,683 for companies to hire a new employee on average.
9. More than 67% of employees think constant calls and meetings are wasting their time and preventing them from being more productive.
10. The same survey discovers that 1 in 3 workers feel like they spend 2-5 hours on pointless calls or meetings every week.

9 Recruitment Statistics

Finding and hiring talent is one of the most important and challenging tasks of every HR professional. Recruiting the right people can help your organization improve performance, boost productivity, create the right company culture, and increase profits.

Here are the most important HR recruitment statistics to improve your own recruitment process.

1. Most companies are looking for new employees. According to the Monster global report, 93% of employers were looking to hire in 2022, and 41% wanted to fill in new positions.
2. The same report discovered that more than 9 out of 10 employers struggled to find the right talent for their job openings.
3. This shows that recruitment problems are on the rise, as 63% of talent recruiters also stated talent shortage as their biggest problem in a 2017 Recruitment Sentiment Study by MRINetwork.
4. According to an Achievers 2022 report, 49% of employees sought new job opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic. 
5. According to the same report, 24% of employees looked for a new job to progress their careers, while 21% wanted better compensation and benefits.
6. The Ultimate List of LinkedIn Brand Statistics states that strong brands attracted 50% more qualified applicants and had a 50 percent lower cost-per-hire. This highlights the importance of your company’s branding strategy.
7. According to HR Cloud, 73% of candidates are passive job seekers or people who are currently employed and not actively looking for a job, but who are nonetheless open to better career opportunities. 
8. Job listings that include a salary range get 75% more clicks than the ones that don’t, according to G2. This makes sense since a lack of transparency about the pay and benefits is one of the reasons applicants find the job hunt stressful.
9. 74% of employers think they’ve hired the wrong person for a specific position, according to a CareerBuilder survey. Considering that the average cost of a bad hire is almost $15,000, and the cost of missing a good applicant is nearly $30,000, it is a costly mistake.

13 Employee Retention and Engagement Statistics

HR professionals do a lot more than attract and recruit the right talent. They also focus on implementing the right strategies to retain employees and ensure they are happy at the company. 

Here are some valuable HR statistics you should know if you’re trying to improve employee retention and engagement:

1. According to a Toxic Work Environment Report, 72% of people have quit because of the toxic environment at their workplace. In addition, 51% plan to leave their current job for the same reason.
2. According to the same report, the lack of opportunities for growth and development is the number one reason people decide to leave their jobs. Other issues include poor work-life balance, unsafe working conditions, harassment, and unfair treatment by managers.
3. A salary worker has been with their current employer for 4.1 years on average, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, employee tenure depends on the worker's age, sex, occupation, industry, and other factors.
4. Getting the right support is vital for employees. As much as 68% of workers consider leaving their job when they don’t receive support from their seniors.
5. 60% of Millennials in the US say they would be open to a different job opportunity, which is 15% higher compared to other age groups. 
6. 70% of employees state that their manager significantly affects team engagement, according to Gallup’s report.
7. Gallup also finds that quiet quitters make up at least 50% of the US workforce. Quiet quitting aligns with poor employee engagement, and it’s more likely to affect employees under the age of 35.
8. Most young employees (89%) label mental health and kindness at work as vital, according to a survey by This Way.
9. The 2019 Employee Engagement and Modern Workplace Report revealed that 84% of highly engaged employees were recognized before for their efforts. So, recognition and praise lead to better engagement.
10. On average, office workers are only productive for 2 hours and 53 minutes, which means HR professionals need to find ways to engage employees and keep them motivated.
11. Employees who are not engaged or are actively disengaged during work hours cost companies $7.8 trillion in lost productivity.
12. CEOs see the increasing importance of AI in today’s market. 44% believe these tools could be helpful for employee acquisition and retention, according to Forbes.
13. Companies with engaged employees are 23% more profitable, according to Gallup.

10 Statistics About Diversity & Inclusion

Having a diverse workplace can help your organization gain a competitive advantage. That’s because diversity allows more points of view, different angles for solving problems, more effective brainstorming sessions, and overall better ideas. 

In addition, diverse and inclusive brands usually reach a wider customer base and enjoy higher customer trust.

In this section, we cover the most important HR statistics about diversity, one of the hottest topics among HR professionals.

1. According to Pew Research Center, almost half of Gen Z (48%) are ethnically diverse. Most identify as non-white minorities.
2. The projections from the US Census Bureau stated that most US adults would belong to a minority group by 2044. However, we may hit those numbers even sooner with the current trends.
3. Based on the data from the US Department of Labor, the unemployment rates were the highest among people who are Black (11.5%) and Hispanic (10.6%). 
4. People with disabilities are less likely to be employed than people without disabilities. The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that 10.2% of people with disabilities are unemployed.
5. 21.5% of families had no employed members, while that number is 23.4% among Black families.
6. The median earnings for women in 2021 were only 83.1% of those of men, showing that the wage gap is still a thing.
7. Research shows that women are 8% less likely to receive raises than men, even though they ask for them at a similar rate. The numbers are even worse for Latina and Black women compared to white women.
8. Individuals with bachelor’s degrees earn $400,000 more on average during their lifetimes compared to people with only high school diplomas.
9. Workplace diversity is an important factor for 76% of people seeking new job opportunities, according to Glassdoor.
10. According to the same report, 32% would not apply to a company lacking diversity.

11 Employee Burnout & Wellness Statistics

Burnout in the workplace has become a global problem. Employees usually experience burnout due to a stressful environment, high workload, unrealistic expectations, working long hours, and other factors.

The statistics in this section should help HR professionals get more insight into burnout and focus on the importance of employee wellness.

1. Forbes reports that 95% of HR leaders agree that burnout is a major problem for employee retention.
2. Unfair compensation (41%), an impossible workload (32%), and too much overtime (32%) are the top contributing factors to burnout, according to Workforce Institute.
3. Nearly 60% of employees blame work-related stress for the lack of interest, motivation, energy, and effort in their work, according to the American Psychological Association.
4. 70% of C-suite executives experience poor mental health and consider leaving for a job more conscious about their well-being.
5. The same report from Forbes states that middle managers are most affected by burnout at 43%.
6. In addition, that same report says that women are 32% more likely to experience burnout than men.
7. According to Gallup, simply reducing working hours doesn’t prevent burnout. Instead, employees seem more motivated by the quality of their work and the manager's dedication. That’s why employers should focus on motivating, supporting, and inspiring their employees. 
8. A recent Top Workplaces study discovered that 38% of employees feel overwhelmed at work. 
9. The same study says that 28% of employees feel upset or anxious because of work and around the same number experience negative consequences in their personal lives.
10. Luckily, Top Workplaces reveals that company leaders have recognized this problem, and 68% see employee well-being as a top priority.
11. According to Society for Human Resource Management, 45% of US adults working in small or medium-sized companies say a wellness program sponsored by the employer would make them stay at their current job longer.

10 Remote and Hybrid Working Trends

The COVID-19 pandemic has made a tremendous shift in working trends, with the transition to remote and hybrid working being among the most prominent. 

Here’s what these HR statistics have to say about remote and hybrid work and whether it’s here to stay:

1. Managers are becoming more optimistic about flexible working, as 62.5% believe it increases motivation and 75% think it’s great for productivity.
2. According to Upwork, 37% of employees may consider leaving a job if they cannot work remotely.
3. According to Statista, the main complaint about working in remote or hybrid environments is that 43% of employees did not feel included in meetings.
4. According to the Forbes article on burnout, 53% of employees with flexible working schedules reported a better ability to focus. In addition, 29% felt more productive.
5. Hybrid working models are altering how employers feel about office space, as 59% report planning to at least halve the capacity of their offices in 2023, according to a Vistech survey.
6. 84% of employees who had to work remotely due to the coronavirus pandemic prefer a hybrid work schedule in the future.
7. 58% of employees feel more productive in hybrid work conditions, according to a McKinsey survey.
8. The same survey discovers that 54% of workers feel like diversity and inclusion have improved with hybrid work. In addition, hybrid work led to a 45% boost in employee engagement, which translated to better customer satisfaction.
9. Most employees prefer a hybrid model with 1-3 on-site days per week, according to Gallup.
10. Hybrid work models can also help businesses cut down their expenses. According to vpnAlert, companies save $11,000 per year for every employee working remotely for 2.5 days a week.

10 Onboarding and Training Statistics

The onboarding process is vital to help your new hires understand their roles and responsibilities. In addition, adequate training can help employees develop new skills, boost performance, and stay motivated. 

Here are some important onboarding and training statistics that can help you improve your onboarding and training process:

1. Harvard Business Review discovered that a strong onboarding program could boost the productivity of new employees by 62% and increase their retention rate by 50%.
2. Other sources report even higher numbers. One report states that a strong onboarding program could improve employee retention by as much as 82% and boost productivity by 70%.
3. According to Microsoft, new employees are 3.5 times more likely to be satisfied in a hybrid work regime if their manager plays a more active role.
4. Interestingly, assigning an onboarding buddy helped Microsoft improve the satisfaction of their new employees by 23%.
5. According to Gallup, only 12% of employees think their company has a good onboarding process.
6. 48% of employees recognized training opportunities as one of the significant factors for choosing their current company.
7. According to the same report, 76% of employees are more likely to stay with an organization that offers continuous training.
8. In addition, 55% of employees believe they need additional training to gain or refine their skills and be able to perform better at their job.
9. According to Mercer, only 34% of HR professionals are investing in employee training, and 40% don’t even know about the skills of their workforce.
10. Younger generations are more likely to pick a job that accelerates their career development. 45% of Millennials want a job that will help them develop skills to reach their goals.

Conclusion

That concludes this comprehensive list of the most important HR statistics and trends you need to know in 2023.

We hope these 70+ statistics help you identify the most critical areas to improve for a better and more successful work environment

For more advice, check out the rest of our career blog!