Patrice & Associates CEO, Brian Miller, Talks Labor Numbers and More

According to new data released by the Labor Department, U.S. employers added 209,000 jobs in June despite inflation, high interest rates and a looming recession. Brian Miller, CEO of Patrice & Associates, a leading recruitment firm franchise, shared his insights on what these numbers mean for the current job market, as well as the role staffing agencies will play in the evolving landscape.

“The economy added over 200,000 jobs in June, indicating solid growth and a falling unemployment rate,” said Miller. “This is due to steady hiring, including in the leisure and hospitality industry, one of the top job creators. Overall, organizations are continuing to hire, but the hospitality industry is still recovering lost jobs to meet pre pandemic employment levels.”

Find out how the July Job Report will impact employers and workers.

Miller attributes the strength of the job market to two key factors: the declining birth rate in North America and the pandemic-fueled mass exodus of Baby Boomers from the workforce. “This has created a vacuum, leading to almost two jobs for every job seeker,” he explained. “All of that is leading to a tighter labor market, which is why you continue to see strong hiring numbers. The economy will continue to go up and down, but the labor force will remain tight because of these socio-economic factors.”

While the economy may be unpredictable, Miller says there is one aspect that will likely remain constant: companies will need to maintain strong relationships with recruitment firms.

“The ‘War on Talent’ has been a terminology for a while now, and we are officially in the deep end,” said Miller. “Companies are struggling to find people. On a long-term basis, I don’t see that changing significantly — as long as the labor pool remains tight, companies will be competing for the best talent. That is where Patrice & Associates comes in.”

Over the past 30 years, Patrice & Associates has honed its methods and processes to stand out from the competition by focusing on sourcing the best, top-level candidates and connecting them with the right opportunities.

“We go out and recruit to find people who don’t necessarily have their resumes up on the job boards — those who are gainfully employed but would be open to new opportunities if presented with them,” said Miller. “Companies are contacting us because we offer proactive recruiting. Our resources stretch far and wide in order to find individuals in a larger pool of people.”

Miller also emphasized the importance of human interaction in the recruitment process, which cannot be replaced by AI or job boards. Patrice & Associates will source job candidates through several different channels including discrete and confidential cold calling, a social media campaign, blind advertising in nationally recognized publications and the Patrice Way™ industry search to attract top level talent.

“When candidates have multiple jobs to choose from, as an employer you have to move quickly or you are going to lose them,” Miller said. “That is why we help organizations streamline the hiring process — we are essentially marketing really good companies to really good people.”

Patrice & Associates also offers career coaching to candidates, assisting them in building effective resumes and presenting themselves in the best possible way to potential employers. Whether candidates know exactly what they want or are just looking for support, franchisees can offer everything from resume preparation to free interview coaching, exclusive positions and final negotiations.

“We help present the candidate in such a way that gets the attention of the companies,” Miller said. “We have a methodology in assisting them in building a resume, for example, and we can help them get an interview faster by drawing out the information that will appeal most to employers. Because we have been doing this for 30 years, we have relationships with top brands and can connect them with top talent.”

Due to the current state of the job market, Patrice & Associates has continued to see a surge in demand at all levels of organizations. Although Patrice & Associates started with a focus on hospitality, the company has expanded into a wide range of service-based industries. Clients include nationwide and local restaurants, hotels, retail and grocery chains, assisted living facilities, hospitals, airport concourse outlets, spas, catering and wedding venues, casinos, companies that hire sales and customer service representatives and much more.

For example, over the past year, Patrice & Associates has been heavily focused on its executive search services, helping organizations build their senior leadership teams nationally, regionally and locally. “We are getting inquiries from all types of companies across various sectors who are looking for leaders,” Miller said. “Traditionally, we operated mostly in the hospitality sector, but we are now expanding out to other industries and markets due to such high demand.”

Looking ahead, Miller says Patrice & Associates is fully committed to helping both companies and job seekers navigate the current job market, providing valuable resources and expertise to ensure the best possible outcomes for all parties involved.