Over the past 90 days, more than 14,000 jobs ads for human resources professionals specified that candidates would need either a Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification or a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certification. This is an 8.5% increase in the number of jobs that specify this certification in their ads. However, this only represents about 7% of all HR-related job ads posted online during the past 90 days.

Hiring Demand for SPHR or PHR Certifications in HR Jobs - 4 Year Hiring Trend

Within this field, the HR Managers and Specialist occupations had the most jobs requiring SPHR or PHRs. The most commonly advertised job titles that require an SPHR or PHR are:

1. Recruiter
2. Senior Recruiter
3. Corporate Recruiter
4. Human Resources Representative
5. Technical Recruiter

According to the Hiring Scale, it's likely that employers will find positions that require these certifications hard-to-fill. Nationally, this requirement scores a 78 on the Hiring Scale. (The Hiring Scale ranges from 1-99, with 99 representing the most difficult market conditions.) The below heat map shows that there aren't any green metro areas, which would depict "easy" recruiting conditions. In fact, the best location in the US to find potential candidates with SPHR's or PHR's is Eugene, Oregon. Although Eugene doesn't necessarily have the largest talent pool in the US, it has just a few open positions. So, employers that are able to source candidates from this area are likely to experience very little competition from other companies trying to attract the same candidates.

Hiring Scales for HR Jobs Requiring SPHR's or PHR's in the US