The HR Jobs Market Place in 2022, as we saw it

The HR jobs market on the face of it in 2022 was great. Our business enjoyed a very strong performance and our revenue comes from filling HR roles. It must have been good then?! For sure, it was noticeable that there was a release of pent-up demand after the pandemic. 2022 generally did see a lot of new opportunity and renewed business determination.

It is also well documented that the pandemic encouraged many to consider their positions and make changes. This inspired early retirement, career changes and geographical moves. These changes in professional recruitment circles drives the whirlpool of vacancy creation. These forces combined with a world of work that was throwing up a lot of people challenges created a relatively strong HR jobs market for sure. However, it is still a very competitive marketplace.

It is also widely reported that pay has been a motivating factor for people moving roles. At junior and mid level, we have noticed higher than usual levels of people looking for a new role, with the primary consideration being to secure a pay rise. There was also a focus, particularly at mid to senior level, to negotiate hard and consider money in processes. This perhaps helped to fuel a jump in offered salaries.

The HR jobs Market Place in 2023

Recessions never particularly worry me as a HR recruiter. My rationale and calm thinking here is based on patterns that I have witnessed in previous downturns. Whether wider market forces are good or bad, organisations will always have people problems. I would expect to see less permanent opportunity, but to counterbalance we will likely see more fixed term contract and interim opportunities. We are seeing redundancy in the tech sector. Yes, we are observing the worry that businesses are having about energy costs when they have high energy demands (leisure, hospitality etc). However, we are also seeing lots of innovation and consistent motivation by HR professionals to change roles (which in turn then delivers opportunity for others). We are also still seeing those that can leave the profession early, doing so. This creates opportunities for others through this early retirement trend. We do expect that the temporary blip in significant pay increases is behind us. The desire to offer pay rises to new and / or existing employees has waned. Furthermore, with an expected slowdown in permanent job opportunity, it is likely that the competitive HR jobs market place will feel the squeeze around offered salaries.