LEBANON, N.H. — Appcast, the global leader in recruitment marketing technology and services, today unveiled the findings of its eighth annual “Recruitment Marketing Benchmark Report.” Downloaded by nearly 7,000 talent acquisition professionals last year, the annual report examines 2023 job ad data from more than 1,300 employers in the U.S. The report findings are based on an analysis of 379 million job ad clicks and 30.5 million applies.
According to Appcast’s team of labor economists, the U.S. economy is currently on track to achieve the Federal Reserve’s goal of a “soft landing.” The U.S. avoided a recession in 2023, while high interest rates and market forces cooled inflation. Meanwhile, the labor market remained strong (very low unemployment, strong labor supply) – but not as “hot” as seen in previous years. This is because:
- Employer demand for workers cooled as interest rates increased and the economic outlook became less certain. The same decline can also be said for both employee attrition and the number of available job postings.
- Labor supply experienced a significant rebound last year, led by an uptick in both the female and immigrant workforce.
- Turnover reduced, the “Great Resignation” ended, and wage growth has slowed accordingly.
A Cooler Labor Market Brings Mild Relief for Recruiting Budgets
One of the most significant outcomes of the cooling labor market is that talent acquisition teams will be able to stretch their budgets further, enabling recruiters to get more “bang for their buck” in a market that while cooler, is still “tight” by historical standards.
- The number of clicks and applies per job posting increased, ending the year with an average 4.48 clicks and 0.7 applies per job, respectively, indicating a larger supply of job seekers.
- The median cost-per-click (CPC) for a job ad continued to decline in 2023. By the end of 2023, the median CPC hit a new low of $0.85, compared to $1.07 in 2022 and $1.10 in 2021.
- The median apply rate increased 22.5% from 2022. “Apply rate” is defined as the number of people who submit an application after having clicked on a job ad, represented as a percentage.
- The median cost-per-application (CPA) fell to $19.40 by the end of 2023, down 29.6% when compared to 2022.
Mapping out a Winning Formula for Recruiting Success
The Appcast Recruitment Marketing Benchmark Report provides actionable advice for employers to drive greater efficiency and effectiveness from recruiting marketing efforts while optimizing budgets. Insights include:
- Detailed metrics on job seeker activity like apply rates and CPA broken down by state.
- Job-function-specific graphs and data, breaking out factors like CPC, apply rates, CPA and mobile apply rates for more than 20 different functions.
- The current breakdown of desktop versus mobile apply rates and why the mobile apply rate experienced a slight drop in 2023, coming in at 62.07% in 2023, down from 67% in 2022.
- Insights on when job seekers are more likely to be applying for jobs.
“If you’re in talent acquisition, the past few years have likely felt like a rollercoaster ride. For the first time since the pandemic, recruiters are finally seeing signs of relief. We seem to be shifting away from one of the most turbulent labor markets we have seen in decades and experiencing lower costs and better outcomes when it comes to recruiting,” said Heather Salerno, chief marketing officer at Appcast. “Appcast’s annual report empowers employers with data – to drive strategic conversations, achieve greater recruiting efficiencies and benchmark performance among peers.”
To download the 2024 “Recruitment Marketing Benchmark Report,” click here.
