Even with the pandemic accompanying us into 2022, we still held firm to the belief this year would be different. And it was. Starting strongly, total job vacancies in February saw an increase of 6.9% from November 2021. The Australian economy grew 3.9% over 2021-22, the strongest year-on-year growth since 2011-12. Boundless business opportunities were in sight.
For jobseekers, as the great resignation entered our periphery, the fear of job losses were abandoned. In July, Australia’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.4%, continuing the trend of the lowest level in 48 years. Concurrently, job vacancies increased dramatically, with May 2022 vacancies 111.1% higher than in February 2020. We were gifted with abundant job choices.
For businesses with close to full employment levels and Everest-high demands for human capital, the force of resistance was formidable.
Relying on talent acquisition as a growth strategy was flawed and the skills shortage further burdened businesses with unforeseeable high costs.