‘Knowledge is a commodity to be shared. For knowledge to pay dividends, it should not remain the monopoly of the selected few.’
– Moutasem Algharati
EST10’s Quarterly Industry News keeping you up-to-date and with your finger on the employment market pulse.
When introducing our new Quarterly Industry News in June, we didn’t anticipate our soon to be lockdowns nor just how long they would be this time around. The consensus seems to be, people are finding it tougher this year than last, emotionally and psychologically. Since then, we have seen a 12-year low in Australia’s unemployment rate, currently sitting at, 4.5% and figures from SEEK show continued record-breaking highs for job adverts. We expect these to continue for the rest of the year.
The ABS reported the real GDP rose 0.7% (seasonally adjusted) in the June quarter of this year to be 9.6% higher than in the same quarter last year. The Australian economy grew by 1.4% over 2020-21 as a whole. This rise is quite significant–showing our post-pandemic economy was really taking off. It is a promising sign for the months ahead of the ‘post-Delta’ lockdowns.
Despite the low unemployment rate, the underemployment rate has increased to 9.3% in August. The AFR reports AMP’s Capital chief economist, Shane Oliver puts the effective jobless rate at 6.8%; Alex Joiner, chief economist at IMF Investors, has it between 6.3% and 7.5%; and Goldman Sachs chief economist Andrew Boak claims it to be at 9.1%. Our employment and underemployment rates are based on previous monthly data and we should expect these to increase for September.
Further, the youth unemployment rate has increased 0.5 points to 10.7%, a concerning sign for the future, especially as this is 0.9 points higher than the figures from March 2020. We can expect this rate to increase as we approach the end of the year with school leavers and university graduates entering the workforce.
Despite our lockdowns, recruitment for us remained steady, albeit at a slightly reduced rate. Challenges in remote onboarding and training were deterrents for many businesses. In the last couple of weeks, with the anticipation of coming out of the restrictions sometime soon, we have seen a steady increase in jobs listed.
Competition for talent remains tight. Job security is at the forefront of people’s minds, thus a reluctance at the moment to look for other opportunities. Candidate’s who are active on the job market are securing offers within 5-10 days.
Salaries also remain high and extremely competitive, with counter offers strong and sign-on bonuses now a ‘thing’. For more on salaries, please review EST10’s most recent Salary Guide.
According to the ABS, total jobs increased by 262,000 (1.8%) in the June quarter, of which 167,000 were filled jobs and 95,000 were vacant jobs.
Bjorn Jarvis, head of Labour Statistics at the ABS, said: “The multiple job-holding rate of 6.5% in the June quarter was the highest seen across the 27-year series, and continued the rebound from the record low of 4.9% in the June quarter of 2020.” Interestingly, one of the largest increases in the multiple job-holding rate was in Administrative and support services.
If you are hiring at the moment, read our article on the untapped candidate pool. You might be surprised who this represents!
‘If you don’t have an Executive Assistant, you are one.’
– Cameron Herold, The CEO Whisperer & Business Growth Guru
The temporary and contract market remains strong. Unlike last year’s lockdowns, most companies this year kept their temporaries and pivoted immediately to support remote working arrangements. This highlights the necessary reliance and value upon the temporary workforce with the shortage of talent in the permanent space.
The constriction of talent is felt even more so within the temporary and contract space with our WHV holders dwindling at a rapid rate, virtually no immigration and Australian residents preferring the security of a permanent job.
Temporary assignments are filled in record times and on the spot to secure candidates who are available at that moment. Companies who look to interview for short-term temporary assignments may struggle to secure candidates.
A recommendation we suggest to all our clients, if you like the temporary employee working with you and are thinking of exploring a permanent role–do it. Delaying by even a day may see your candidate offered another role. If you are hiring right now, make it #1 on your list. The days of candidate abundance or catching a candidate ‘next time around’ has left us. Whilst always remaining strategic, we also encourage you to think of the ‘here and now’.
For further assistance and information please see our blog ‘The Real Cost Of Your Empty Seat‘ or ‘The Great Candidate Shortage‘ for more information.
At EST10, despite the lockdowns, we have been keeping very busy! We hope you have been able to enjoy and participate in one of our many virtual events! In addition, we have been working hard to find the best talent in an extremely candidate tight market. As restrictions ease, we predict the chase to find talent to be as fierce as ever. We highly recommend being ahead of the competition by hiring now!
As we begin to tiptoe closer to the end of lockdowns (where is the hairdresser!), there is a strong desire to return to the workplace. Our most recent survey (hot off the press and will be available this week!) shows significant insight into exactly how people are feeling right now. Over 80% of people want a hybrid working model, over 40% believe it’s their right to choose where they work and over 70% feel this time around our lockdowns to be more stressful. We hope our survey will be valuable to assist you with your recruitment and transition strategies.
Businesses are also facing the challenge of navigating vaccination requirements and the ongoing employee engagement and retention strategies as we work out remote, hybrid or office? Watch our September Market Update VLOG for more!
‘One of the things we often miss in succession planning is that it should be gradual and thoughtful, with lots of sharing of information and knowledge and perspective, so that it’s almost a non-event when it happens.’
– Anne M. Mulcahy, Former Chairperson and CEO of Xerox
Have you seen? We are so excited to share our new website with you! This has been a long time coming with the team working tirelessly to make sure it just screams EST10!
And it is not only, essentially, a dictionary for EST10, but a go-to guide for job market consulting – from employers and hiring managers to job hunters and advice seekers. We have it all, in one easy and beautiful (if we do say so ourselves!) place!
A big, big heartfelt thanks to all of you who have supported Employable.
We were supposed to have a book launch in July at Dymocks, but sadly it was cancelled and we are currently at our 4th reschedule! At this stage, it looks like next year. However, since the lockdowns, the support has been overwhelming–we sold out on Booktopia and discovered just this week it is now available in Malaysia and Singapore! We’ve loved receiving the kind messages about how Employable has helped you! We have also been invited to contribute articles for magazines, newspapers (the weekend Australian) and even interviewed on TV! Want to see more? Head over to our new media page!
As Founder and Managing Director at EST10, Roxanne has an all-encompassing role that includes building and growing the business, as well as actively recruiting and consulting.
After completing a Bachelor’s Degree at Monash University, Roxanne began her recruitment career with renowned recruiter Julia Ross. From there, Roxanne worked in HR and recruitment with a number of global players and boutique businesses throughout Australia, the UK, Singapore and Hong Kong for over 20 years. She has been responsible for managing large teams and projects, implementing RPO models, managing and assisting businesses to an IPO and assisting companies in setting up their recruitment teams and processes.
Following completion of her MBA at the Australian Graduate School of Management, Roxanne launched EST10 in July 2010. In doing so, she hoped to combine the flexibility and high touch service levels of boutique agencies with the structure and strategy afforded to larger firms. Roxanne believes in high-touch, high-care consulting and is always on the lookout for consultants that share this vision of recruitment.
