Recruitment Trends for 2025: What’s Shaping the Future of Hiring?
Recruitment trends over the past couple years have been dominated by some big topics….
Posted by Niche Recruitment
3rd October 2023
Labour Market Insights – Niche Recruitment
The Niche Recruitment Labour Market Insights blog is a thought-provoking piece that provides industry expertise commentary on the latest labour market data and surveys produced by a variety of respected sources.
The report is released on a quarterly basis. On this page, you’ll find the links to key content and sources used within our report.
October 2023 overview
If you’re struggling with hard to fill vacancies, retaining staff members and have felt pressure around inflated salary desires– you’re not alone.
The recruitment landscape is proving tricky terrain for some employers at the moment. Whilst some organisations are calling for a return to the office, many potential employees are still looking for those benefits of flexible working, whilst earning a wage much higher than in the pre-pandemic market.
With approximately 42% of employers having hard to fill vacancies, there’s never been a better time to be up to date on the current labour market trends. We thought it would be useful to share our insights and provide you with the knowledge you need to stay ahead of the game.
Key Findings & Commentary
Retaining Staff – Counteroffer Culture
It goes without saying that for every employer there’s a financial ceiling they’re willing to go to when it comes to staff salaries – and equally for every employee there’s a desired salary to attain.
We’re certainly seeing an increase in candidates being counter-offered in recent months, some with massively inflated salaries or promise of career development plans, or both.
The latest industry stats back up our findings. 40% of employers have made a counteroffer in the past 12 months, with 51% of those employers delivering more counteroffers than before. Among employers presenting counteroffers, 40% offer a higher salary, 38% salary match and 9% offer a salary below the original offer.
Other staff benefits are a crucial part of the counteroffer process, to complement salary. Flexible working, opportunities for professional development and other perks can mean more to jobseekers than financial incentives. It’s important to consider the individual’s motivators – there’s no one-size-fits-all approach.
As part of our service at Niche Recruitment, we’re able to provide useful benchmarking data and employment statistics for a variety of positions and their respective salaries. Armed with this data you can make informed decisions when it comes to retaining staff and offering the market rate on salaries. This will help you to avoid getting into a counteroffer battle of your own.
Office Politics
One of the most talked about current trends in the labour market is the drive to get more people back in the office full-time. It’s a hot and divisive topic, with employees and employers sometimes coming from entrenched positions, limiting their options as a result.
Working from home is a huge factor, with many employees enjoying the flexibility this arrangement offers – not to mention the reduced costs and time saving associated with less frequent commuting. With employees geared up to work remotely, there’s a reluctance from some to head back to the office full-time.
However, productivity has long been a question. When asked about productivity levels when working from home, 30% of working adults asked said people worked less hard. 41% said about the same and 17% said people worked harder.
For employers looking for quality staff to be in the office full-time, a generous salary alongside meaningful company benefits are going to put you in the best position.
Pay Pressures
There is no doubt that competition for specific skills and the pressures of inflation have increased salary expectations.
KPMG has found that pressures on pay are still significant for employers, with starting salaries and temp wages rising significantly at the end of Q3.
Again, it’s important to consider those added benefits, whether that’s a great company culture, a strong CSR programme or even something like gym membership for employees. These can help to bolster a job offer whilst not leaving your company out of pocket.
Recruiting temporary workers into your team can have huge benefits (see below) and here at Niche we’ve seen an increase in demand for short-term solutions. That’s why it’s vital that we put the same effort into sourcing and placing our temps as we do for candidates looking for permanent roles.
Temporary Recruitment Solutions
Flexibility, immediacy and scalability – just a few of the huge number of benefits of employing temporary workers.
The private sector has tapped into this resource to bolster workforces, without the commitment of permanent contracts. Businesses are looking for those short-term solutions in a still-unpredictable market.
You can read more about the benefits of temporary workers, our Niche Temp Talent Pool and why you should partner with Niche for your temporary needs here.
Marketing Demand Down
Marketing specialists have been sought-after for a long-time with the ever-increasing demand for businesses to be ‘digital first’, but surprisingly, we’re starting to see a shift. Recruitment for marketing specialists fell by 41.8% in the first half of 2023, compared to last year.
An overall annual decrease of 35.5% is expected by the end of the year.
With this being indicative of an unpredictable market, there has never been a better time to partner with a recruitment agency with a specialism in Marketing. With decades of experience in recruiting specifically for Marketing, Digital and Creative roles, Director Michelle has a unique insight on the local labour market and access to a talent pool of quality jobseekers.
Director’s Comments
There is a plethora of information in the market that provides insight into key trends impacting the recruitment sector. With continued low unemployment rates, the ‘war on talent’ continues. This has a direct impact on wage growth, which in turn affects inflation. Organisations are finding themselves needing to increase starting salaries to attract talent, and they are also having to make counter-offers to retain employees who are considering moving to new roles.
It is now more important than ever to partner with a specialist recruitment agency that understands market conditions, can provide labour insights, and offer honest feedback. Leveraging networks in specialist markets to find talent has become crucial. And if temporary support is needed in the interim, we are here to help!
We hope this report provides you with a comprehensive snapshot of the current market. If you have any questions about the key statements in this report, we would be more than happy to discuss our service offering with you over a coffee – virtual or face to face!
Get in touch today to speak with our team.
