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- TikTok is testing a new feature to help Gen Z users find job listings, Axios reported.
- Despite the high unemployment rate, companies are struggling to fill entry-level roles.
- Many employers have begun offering perks, including wage increases, to attract workers.
TikTok is testing out a new feature to help Gen Z connect to job listings right on the app, Axios reported.
This feature is designed to give users access to job openings right on the app, and will give participating companies access to interested applicants, who will be able to use TikTok videos as their resume, according to the report.
TikTok users have already been using the platform as a tool for sharing career advice as well as providing tips for job openings, interview etiquette, and resume building advice. And the app sees value in creators who are doing more than entertaining: Last summer, the app launched an initiative in Europe to fund educational content on the app.
"We want people to turn to TikTok not just for entertainment, but to learn something new, to acquire a new skill, or simply get inspired to do something they've never done before," the company wrote in a blog announcing the program. "People are already doing this, and it's a trend we want to get behind and accelerate."
Now, Tiktok might be more than a place where users can learn new skills, it also could to get people hired. Or, in the case of businesses struggling to fill job openings, help them staff up.
Only 266,000 jobs were added in April, far fewer than the 1 million jobs expected, proving to be a dismal month for recovery.
And despite the high unemployment rate and COVID-19 restrictions loosening around the country, employers are struggling to fill job openings, leading some companies to provide incentives for job applicants.
A McDonalds in Florida began offering applicants $50 just to come in for an interview, but even that hasn't been enough to attract potential workers.
The food service industry is especially aching to fill job vacancies. Taco Bell held spot interviews at nearly 2,000 company parking lots in April in an attempt to fill thousands of positions. IHOP will host a "National Recruiting Day" on May 19, as it looks to fill nearly 10,000 openings.
The labor shortage has converged with the larger conversation of raising minimum wage. Chipotle Mexican Grill is the latest company to raise wages as it works to fill nearly 20,000 positions. The company will increase pay to a range of $11 to $18 an hour for crew members and managers at its US stores.
The pandemic recovery has proven that employees are less willing to work long hours in labor intensive jobs like the service industry for a little more than minimum wage, as Insider's Kate Taylor reported last month.
A majority of Americans - 80% - believe the minimum wage is too low, according to a recent poll. Lawmakers have attempted through the Raise the Wage Act to increase the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour, which would bring pay increases to more than 30 million Americans.