It’s certainly been interesting to watch and track the job and recruitment market trends across all sectors so far this year, it’s certainly dynamic out there and it will continue to shift and change with the local, national and international effecting factors we’ve all heard about in the news.
Since the beginning of 2023 we have seen a number of recruitment trends emerge as organisations and candidates respond to a continuously changing market.
The first quarter of 2023 largely remained a candidate driven market with both clients and candidates becoming slightly more cautious in uncertain markets across a number of sectors.
Fast forward to Quarter 3 2023 and the market is currently recalibrating, there is a shift across many sectors with lower job market activity. We are seeing less open jobs now then in Q3 & Q4 2022 and earlier Q1 2023 and a strong sense that the candidate driven marketplace, that was with a war for talent, is adjusting and turning towards a more employer led market.
However, there is still a lot of business growth, opportunity and a high demand for certain skillsets in many sectors. We are applying a watchful eye and a balanced mindset to the current markets.
Hybrid working arrangements are reducing slightly with an increase in the numbers of employees working onsite across many sectors. Flexible working arrangements do however remain a benefit being offered by many companies and a top priority for candidates with employers who offer greater flexibility having more access to top talent.
In early 2023, we saw candidates often turning down roles that didn’t meet their flexibility requirements, however this is beginning to change as the market changes.
In some sectors it is noted that the number of live jobs have reduced between Q1, Q2 and into Q3, while in certain sectors such as Engineering and Financial Services, jobs remain buoyant and skills in demand. The Temporary and Contract staffing market is predicted to remain in high demand in 2023 as fluctuating business needs require flexibility.
Artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, for example ChatGPT, are increasingly making their presence felt in both the Recruitment Industry and the broader workplace. More and more companies and workers are embracing these technologies to enhance productivity and knowledge, leading to their widespread adoption and acceptability.
It is extremely likely that we will continue to see different trends quickly emerging over the coming weeks and months as the market continues to recalibrate as we move further into 2023.
