National Overview:
According to the U.S. Workforce Activity Report from Kronos Incorporated for Aug. 17-23, shift work volume1 grew 1.2% week-over-week – though 40% of that growth is directly attributed to K-12 and higher education activity as the fall semester continues to ramp up. When adjusting for the seasonal flux of education sector activity, shift volume growth sits at just 0.8%, marking the fifth consecutive week of sub-1% seasonally adjusted shift volume growth.
Growth Averages:
August average weekly shift growth totals:
- Week ending Aug. 2 shift growth: 0.4%
- Week ending Aug. 9 shift growth: 0.5%
- Week ending Aug. 16 shift growth: 1.4%
- Week ending Aug. 23 shift growth: 1.2%
Average weekly shift growth by month:
- May average weekly shift growth: 2.7%
- June average weekly shift growth: 1.9%
- July average weekly shift growth: 0.7%
- Aug. average weekly shift growth: 1.0% (as of Aug. 23)
Region Snapshot:
All four regions experienced positive gains week-over-week. Midwest2 shift volume grew 1.9% week-over-week, while the Northeast3, Southeast4, and West5 all increased 0.5% over the prior week.
Industry Analysis:
As denoted in the prior two reports and continuing for the week of Aug. 17-23, public sector shift volume grew another 5.4%, driven largely by K-12 and higher education activity. Manufacturing gained 1% shift volume, while healthcare; retail, hospitality, and food service; and services and distribution remained essentially flat in growth.
Commentary:
Dave Gilbertson, vice president, strategy and operations, Kronos
“Main Street businesses are eagerly counting down until Labor Day, when the inertia of the typically slow summer season is traditionally replaced by more robust activity. However, the last six months have been anything but typical. Business owners, employees, and anxious job seekers are hoping that the changing of the seasons will bring renewed vigor to the shiftwork recovery.”
Timeliness:
The Kronos U.S. Workforce Activity Report provides near real-time shift data through Aug. 23 for 3.2 million employees to provide insights into weekly workplace activity trends for Main Street businesses. For more insights about the COVID-19 shiftwork recovery, visit www.kronos.com/USWorkforceActivity.
Supporting Resources
- Note to editors: Please refer to report as “U.S. Workforce Activity Report by Kronos Incorporated for Aug. 17-23, 2020.” Visit Kronos.com/USWorkforceActivity to view all reports.
- For practical guidance supporting employee well-being and workforce productivity, visit the Managing Through Times of Uncertainty resource center on Kronos.com and the COVID-19: Leadership in Uncertain Times resource center on UltimateSoftware.com.
- Read the eBook “HR’s Role in Business Continuity: COVID-19 and Beyond.”
- Kronos and Ultimate Software CEO Aron Ain transforms employee engagement into a growth strategy in “WorkInspired: How to Build an Organization Where Everyone Loves to Work.”
- Connect with Kronos via Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube.
About Kronos Incorporated
Kronos is a leading provider of workforce management and human capital management cloud solutions. Kronos industry-centric workforce applications are purpose-built for businesses, healthcare providers, educational institutions, and government agencies of all sizes. Tens of thousands of organizations — including half of the Fortune 1000® — and more than 40 million people in over 100 countries use Kronos every day. Kronos merged with Ultimate Software on April 1, 2020, to create one of the world’s most innovative HCM and workforce management companies. Visit www.kronos.com. Kronos: Workforce Innovation That Works.
About Ultimate Software
Ultimate Software is a leading global provider of cloud human capital management (HCM) and employee experience solutions, with more than 51 million people records in the cloud. Ultimate’s award-winning UltiPro delivers HR, payroll, talent, and time and labor management, as well as HR service delivery solutions. Founded in 1990, Ultimate is headquartered in Weston, Florida, and employs more than 6,000 professionals. To learn more, visit www.ultimatesoftware.com. Ultimate Software: People First.
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Footnote 1: “Shifts worked” is a total derived from aggregated employee time and attendance data and reflects the number of times that employees, especially those who are paid hourly or must be physically present at a workplace to perform their jobs, “clock in” and “clock out” via a time clock, mobile app, computer, or other device at the beginning and end of each shift.
Footnote 2: Midwest is defined as Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin.
Footnote 3: Northeast is defined as Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Footnote 4: Southeast is defined as Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
Footnote 5: West is defined as Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
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