Where is New York employment headed in 2017? We've pinpointed three important trends currently changing the Hiring landscape – from new terminology changing how employees think about their jobs to the latest labor numbers indicating greater competition for skilled workers. Let's take a look at the data.

1. New York Unemployment Falls to Lowest Numbers in a Decade

The latest numbers from the New York State Department of Labor are promising for the state, but a little more difficult to parse for employers. The unemployment rate fell to 4.4 percent in February 2017, the lowest it has been since 2007, just ahead of the recession. Over 28,000 private sector jobs were added in January alone.

There are three important points to draw from this report:

* NYC jobs are getting more skill-oriented – and more competitive over top Talent. New York's demand for skilled work is fueling this new expansion, and that's going to increase competition over talent, even cross-industry competition. Strong networking and opportunities for on the job training are growing more important than ever as a result.

* Job growth is closely related to location. Most of the jobs added recently have been private sector and focused on NYC, with suburb getting a lot less attention and the northern regions of the state looking almost like the inverse. This poses an interesting question for companies looking at new hiring strategies: Is it worth to branch out into other parts of the state where there's less competition, or should businesses wait for talent to gravitate to the city? But as unemployment continues to fall, waiting around is an increasingly risky proposition. Taking action is looking like a better step.

* Talent acquisition isn't going to get any easier. Lots of interest in skilled positions, plus a smaller pool of unemployed workers, point toward the danger of depending entirely on NYC when it comes to hires. If you don't want to end up with leftovers, it's time to expand staffing solutions and find new ways of locating talent fast – because if there's one thing that New York isn't short on, it's competition.

2. Employees are Becoming "Contributors"

What's in a name? We're starting to find out: There are have been predictions that by the year 2025, the word "employee" will have fallen out of favor. Instead, trends favor the word "contributor" when workers and companies are asked what they prefer.

Why the switch to contributor? Because it covers a lot more types of working relationships, and this is the direction that hiring is heading: A myriad of different types of hiring structures and contracts that can be pulled as used as need by hiring managers to fill different types of positions and meet current goals.

It's also worth noting that the majority of workers surveyed choose this word as an indication of how they would prefer to be identified. Today younger generations of employees have no problem moving between companies to fill the right spot, and they generally love the idea of flexible schedules with plenty of options for finding the right work/life balance. No matter their position or tasks, they like the idea of contributing to the long-term mission.

Companies can find a lot of synergies here if they are willing to analyze their staffing solution goals and create more flexible work and temp opportunities to meet needs fast – while also offering the options that today's "contributors" prefer.

3. New Paid Family Leave Benefits Change Hiring Considerations

Part of the NYC 2017 budget plans includes room for new paid family leave benefits, intended to start in 2018. If you haven't been following the implementation, it will be paid through the existing Disability Benefits Law for simplicity's sake, but it's a separate allocation for all employees who have worked at least 26 consecutive weeks (full time) or 175 days (part time), allowing them to draw paid leave. If the bill remains unchanged through 2017 – It's not finalized quite yet – it will target three specific groups of people: Those with sick family members, those with newborn children, and those with active duty military family members. The newborn case, in particular, is worth noting, since paid leave is intended to be available for only the first year of the child's life (also applies to adoptions and foster care placement), putting a time limit on when it can be used.

As with the other trends we've noted, this change encourages greater flexibility when hiring, and the exploration of new staffing solutions for temp and perm work arrangements to fill in positions as needed. For fast ways to find the skilled work you need when the hiring process offers challenges like these, find talent now with ICS and let us know what you are looking for!