salary guide: human resources.

Benefits offerings are a key driver of talent attraction and retention, so it's not surprising that benefits managers have no shortage of opportunities available to them. Not only were there more than 12,000 job postings for this role in the previous year, but demand is only going to increase moving forward — about five percent over the next decade, a faster pace than most other occupations. And with an average of 51 days to fill this key position, it's clear that finding the right benefits manager is already proving difficult for many companies.

Why is that? Firstly, benefits packages play an increasingly critical role in talent acquisition — in fact, they can make or break a job offer. And since public health issues will likely stay front-page news for the foreseeable future, designing benefits programs that offer peace of mind when it comes to physical and mental health is becoming more important than ever.

Business leaders have been wringing their hands over expanding skills gaps for years. Now, those worries have kicked into overdrive, making the emerging world of continuous learning and development (L&D) even more critical to any company's long-term success. And from the talent perspective, L&D is also a hot topic, given that 80 percent of workers want to acquire more skills — and if their employers don't offer the development opportunities they need, they're ready to look elsewhere.

So it's hardly a surprise that L&D directors are seeing an increasing number of opportunities knocking at their door. Nationally, the BLS is forecasting nearly double the average growth rate for this role over the next 10 years. And in high-growth markets like California, where demand is already four times as high as the next most competitive market, competition for these pros will be fiercer than ever.

HR generalists are the master orchestrators who hold down the day-to-day operations of the HR function — everything from recruitment and onboarding to employee relations, compensation and more. Given the expansiveness of their toolkit, it comes as no surprise that these Jacks- and Jills-of-all-trades are highly in demand, with more than 82,000 jobs posted in just the last 12 months.

This is a role that's also undergone significant change of late. As digital transformation alters the playing field, many HR functions are continuing to trade in manual, paper-heavy processes for new digital tools, leaving HR generalists to adapt to new digital modes of communication and doing business in general. So sourcing a tech-savvy generalist who has their pulse on the latest in HRIS technology — especially in key markets across New York, California and Texas, where demand is highest — will prove even more difficult than in years past.

HR managers are true ambassadors, representing their organization's mission, culture and values to every employee they bring on board. In fact, they're often a new employee's first point of contact upon joining, and the last person to interview them when they leave. And with employer branding playing such a key role in recruitment and employee engagement today, it's important to have a trusted partner managing your human resources operations.

For employers, the good news is that the time to fill this critical role is about six weeks, a shorter timeline than other positions in the HR realm. The not-so-good news, however, is that demand for this role is poised to grow nine percent over the next decade — much higher than the average for all other occupations. So if you're on the hunt for an HR manager in 2021, your best bet is to start recruiting sooner rather than later — and make sure your salary offering aligns with the overall market.

Few positions in the workforce are seeing the demand that's out there for recruiters. Just take a look at the staggering 130,447 jobs posted in the past year alone. And it's easy to see why: The hunt for top talent is incredibly challenging. Not only do recruiters spend their days identifying and building relationships with potential candidates, they also engage with universities and training programs to source exceptional talent, stay abreast of new digital platforms and other emerging HR tech to strengthen the candidate experience — and so much more.

In 2021, demand for recruiters will continue to be highest across the business-development centers of the United States. In states like California, New York, Texas and Florida — home to some of the country's largest commercial hubs, where large businesses are constantly recruiting new talent — expect the talent marketplace for recruiters to be tighter than ever.