The job market is so good, new hires aren't showing up for their first day of work.. Really?

September 16, 2019

The labor market is going strong, and job candidates have plenty of opportunities to choose from. So much so that some are bailing on their new employers before they even start. "People are getting multiple offers in a market like today, and they are not showing up on their first day of work," said Paul McDonald, senior executive director at staffing firm Robert Half. He pointed to the strong job market and low unemployment rate as the reason for this surge in ghosting by new hires. Steve Lindner, CEO of employment firm the WorkPlace Group, was ghosted recently by a new hire. The applicant accepted an offer and passed the background check. "We had already shared the name with our support team and had a training program in place. Everything was ready to go," said Lindner. And then no one showed up. But at least this candidate called the next day to explain what happened. Another new hire failed to show on the first day 18 months ago and Lindner still has no idea what happened. "They just never arrived. It was complete job abandonment." The company called, emailed, texted and eventually had to send a formal letter terminating the employment.