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Recruitment will be a tougher arena in the second half of the year, as a new report shows business leaders are looking into expanding or maintaining their current workforce size in the coming months.
According to a new survey by Robert Half of 300 hiring managers, 42 per cent of organisations plan to expand their headcount in the next six months, up from 36 per cent six months ago.
Meanwhile, 46 per cent intend to hire new staff for vacated positions, up from the 38 per cent in January.
Only 8 per cent of the respondents said they will keep their headcount frozen in the next six months, while a smaller 3 per cent said they only plan to carry out layoffs.
Robert Half director Nicole Gorton said firms acknowledged that “stagnancy is the enemy of growth”.
“[They] are working within their limits to “tactically hire headcount while sticking to company-set boundaries. This is precisely what is shaping today’s hiring landscape, and while hiring to support specific initiatives and projects has seen the need for new talent, it has often resulted in freezing headcount in other areas of the business,” she added.
The report revealed that a majority of the respondents cited their company’s growth (34 per cent) as the primary reason for the bigger hiring intention.
Other factors include company performance (29 per cent), availability of qualified candidates (23 per cent) and economic forecasts (23 per cent).
“Budget and project approvals have kickstarted the need for companies to strategically hire for new or vacated positions in order to support growth initiatives and strengthen their service offering to stay ahead of their competitors,” Ms Gorton said.
Across the country, employers in Western Australia reported the strongest hiring ambitions with 44 per cent planning to expand their headcount. They are followed by businesses in Queensland (41 per cent), Victoria (41 per cent) and New South Wales (40 per cent).
Notably, the widespread hiring intentions among employers coincide with the country’s unemployment rate holding steady at a historic low of 3.5 per cent.
Additionally, the country’s job mobility remains at a decade-high of 9.5 per cent, with official data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing that 1.3 million people changed their employer or business in the 12 months leading up to February 2023.
“The skills shortage in Australia remains but the urgency or velocity of that demand is impacted by the prolonged period of macroeconomic uncertainty,” Ms Gorton said.
These tight labour conditions indicate that competition for talent will be tight in the coming months, with employers forecasted to be more “strategic” in their workforce expansion.
“[For] companies who plan to hire in the near future, we see they are taking a very deliberate and strategic approach to their decisions.
“With more stakeholder approvals and time needed to get new hires over the line, organisations are ensuring the talent they bring in is the best they can find, and who bring serious added value to their bottom line,” she stated.
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