Employers hiring 'at more cautious pace' with 'gentle rebalancing in labour market,' says expert
Employers globally are hiring workers at a slower rate this year compared to how they did it in 2022, according to LinkedIn.
Singapore and Sweden have the biggest declines (both -28 per cent) in the LinkedIn Hiring Rate (LHR) – the number of LinkedIn members who added a new employer to their profile in the same month the new job began, divided by the total number of LinkedIn members in that country – this year compared to last year.
New Zealand (-27 per cent) and Austria (-25 per cent) follow, while Canada, the United Kingdom and United States (all -24 per cent) come next on the list.
Mexico (-23 per cent) and Spain, Belgium and The Netherlands (-20 per cent each) also show major drops in their hiring rates.
“While we’re still seeing a year-over-year decline in hiring, the rate of decline is slowing in certain regions and countries, which we can take as a sign of stabilization,” says Karin Kimbrough, LinkedIn chief economist. “I’m looking at this period as a gentle rebalancing in the labour market – meaning employers are hiring, but at a more cautious pace, and employees are staying put for longer.”
Nearly three-in-four (73 per cent) of Canadian hiring decision-makers feel positively about the hiring outlook for the second half of this year, according to Express Employment Professionals.
Decreased career development confidence
The slowing of hiring comes even as job-seekers have increased the number of job applications they have been submitting, especially in the following countries, according to LinkedIn, based on job applications per applicant which is calculated based on job applications to premium jobs submitted by members in the same country as the job posting:
- U.K. (+23 per cent)
- U.S. (+18 per cent)
- France, Singapore (+17 per cent)
- Australia (+16 per cent)
- Germany, The Netherlands (15 per cent)
- Canada (13 per cent)
“As job seekers expand their searches, recruiters are likely going to see an increased volume in applications. Efficiency is always important for talent acquisition teams – and especially in a market like this one,” says Erin Scruggs, LinkedIn VP of Global Talent Acquisition. “I’d recommend that TA leaders take a magnifying glass to both their hiring principles and recruiting processes with an eye towards alignment and consistency across the organization.”
Now, workers in the following countries are less confident in their prospects to progress their careers, according to LinkedIn’s Global Talent Trends: Data-driven insights into the changing world of work.
Among those who were unemployed in July, 57.8 per cent (three-month moving average, not seasonally adjusted) remained unemployed in August. This number was up from 53.4 per cent 12 months earlier.
Now, employee confidence in career development has declined year-over-year in the following countries, according to LinkedIn:
- France (-13)
- Australia and Canada (both -8)
- The Netherlands (-7)
- U.S. and Spain (-4)
- Germany (-3)
- Italy and India (-2)
But companies whose employees excelled at developing skills in the last 12 months have a 15 per cent higher internal mobility rate than companies whose employees lagged, according to the report.
“Businesses need new skills at a rate faster than I’ve ever seen before – which means they need to help their employees evolve via upskilling and internal mobility. In years past, companies might have relied more on talent acquisition to “buy” the new skills they needed, but that strategy no longer works in isolation for today’s labor market and business environment,” says LinkedIn VP of Global Talent Acquisition Jennifer Shappley.
“This insight underscores the advantages of adopting a dynamic talent-management model that brings together talent acquisition and talent development functions.”
Canada’s workforce is aging, and immigration could help fix the problem, according to one expert.
