Recruitment Marketing During an Election Year

Key Takeaways

• • • Political uncertainty creates impacts on the labor market for employers and job seekers. Employers may slow hiring, and job seekers currently employed may be less likely to apply for new positions.
    • Wait-and-see approaches to adding new jobs can contribute to unemployment levels. Long-term unemployment and median weeks unemployed have been on the rise already, though from a historical perspective unemployment remains low.
    • Upper-funnel advertising will be more expensive, but lower-funnel tactics or channels that don’t allow political ads will be more affordable. Diversification and thoughtful strategy are recommended.
    • It will be important to develop an effective content strategy to break through election noise, including focusing on topics like job security that seekers may be interested in.
      
      

Political Uncertainty Impacts on the Job Market

Election years are generally a time of uncertainty. Key factors driving the uncertainty can include volatility in the market, uncertainty about investments, fluctuations in consumer or job seeker confidence, and also potential policy changes, to name a few.

Typically, during times of uncertainty, employers may be hesitant to add new jobs, and job seekers may be hesitant to switch jobs. When asked earlier this year, CEOs overwhelmingly identified political uncertainty ahead of the election (51%) as the most significant challenge affecting business in 2024. 

From a job seeker’s perspective, confidence to switch jobs is already on a downward track and is playing out across several key data points. 

• The pay incentive to change jobs is decreasing. As of July 2024, the median year-over-year change in pay was 7.2%, compared to 10.3% last July. 
• Job seeker confidence is down across all five categories of ZipRecruiter measures. (See chart below for confidence comparing red states to blue states)
• Search interest for “quitting job” is down 11% year over year.
• Quit rates have fallen to 2.1% per the latest BLS report.

Election-timing, which occurs only a few weeks before the holiday season hiring dip, may also encourage some companies to wait until the new year to actively recruit. This tactic has pros and cons. On the positive side, more job seekers are typically looking at the start of a new year. On the other hand, with rising demand on the employer side, the cost to acquire may go up.

Wait and See Approach Impact on Unemployment

Due to the uncertainty referenced above, many companies have adopted a wait-and-see approach over the last few months. The number of new jobs added has been on the decline and unemployment has increased. 

Median weeks unemployed currently sits at 9.4, which is one week longer than the pre-pandemic baseline. Long-term unemployment, or those who are jobless for 27 weeks or longer, has seen more substantial increases, 1.52 million this June compared to 1.1 million last June. 

It is worth noting from a historical perspective that overall unemployment remains very low. If we look at unemployment rates during months leading up to the election in prior years, it was up across the last four election cycles. 

The pent-up demand from companies who have been in wait-and-see mode for the last few months or even a year, coupled with job search intensity from seekers who are unemployed and desperate to find work, could lend to an environment over the next few months where employers may see cheaper costs to acquire talent through lower funnel tactics like job board advertising. Acting now could allow companies to get ahead before the expected rate cut in September, which may also spur hiring activity amongst competitors. 

Upper Funnel Advertising Will Be More Expensive

During election season, there will inevitably be an influx of TV ads and social media ads, amongst other upper-funnel digital tactics. According to the MediaPost, spending for political ads alone will increase by $12.32 billion this year. Some projections indicate that CTV could be of particular focus, with 45% of ad spending on this platform alone. Costs on this channel may rise during this time. According to Digital Marker, costs in general are expected to gradually increase over the year with CPMs steadily rising.

Some channels don’t allow political advertising, which would keep costs lower and visibility higher for companies. Sites like Pinterest, LinkedIn, and TikTok do not allow political advertising at all, and Reddit only allows limited advertising. Diversification to channels like these can help companies maintain visibility without rising costs.  Brand safety should also be at the forefront during election season. Avoiding channels that don’t offer strict parameters around how content is displayed should be considered.

Capturing Job Seeker’s Attention Over the Next Few Months

Companies may also see workers distracted during this time, especially workers or seekers who may be directly impacted by certain policy changes. A Zippia survey found that 79% of workers were distracted by the 2020 election.

According to the HR Daily Advisor, there are several ways companies can best prepare to support workers and job seekers who may be looking to join their workforce. It is recommended that the following be kept top of mind in job ad copy and strategy.

• Promote a Culture of Inclusion: Companies should work to proactively promote a culture of inclusion, transparent communication, and respect. On average, 47% of workers talk about politics at work. Providing a safe space for workers without fear of retribution is essential.
• Lean into Mental Health and Wellness Benefits: The need for mental health and wellness benefits will be front and center for seekers, and these are services current workers may leverage with greater intensity. Given how polarizing the environment can be, workers will need time to process the election results.
• Stay True to Values: Companies should stay true to their values regardless of election outcomes, which will demonstrate strength and transparency during times of uncertainty. It’s recommended that language be included for current workers about the fiscal state of the organization.

Some job seekers want to align themselves with industries or sectors that can provide better job security during unpredictable times. Promoting job security may be messaging that a job seeker would respond well to during this season. It’s also important to note from a job seeker perspective that 44% of job seekers would have reservations about applying to a company that actively supports a different political party than their own, and 21% would not apply at all.

In conclusion, the next several months are expected to be uncertain. Job seekers and employers alike may be more cautious during this time. Lower funnel advertising tactics and channels that don’t allow political ads, may offer a more affordable option for employers to leverage. 

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For support building your strategy during election season and beyond, connect with Recruitics today. Contact our team to explore what solutions may be an excellent fit for your company.