2023 was a year of widely diverging experiences in the human capital management sector. Throughout the year caution reigned as the Federal Reserve continued to raise interest rates to combat inflation with many fearing the higher interest rates would trigger a recession and spike in unemployment.
Despite interest rate increases that brought the federal funds rate above 5% for the first time in more than 15 years, the unemployment rate remained below 4% for the entirety of 2023 and the anticipated recession never arrived. Job openings remained plentiful and hiring was active, but in most sectors both were lower than in 2021 and 2022.
April Taylor, a FOCUS Managing Director, has more than 20 years of consulting, management, and M&A advisory experience. Since joining FOCUS in 2010, Ms. Taylor has worked on numerous transactions involving businesses in the business services, human capital management, and technology and software fields.
