Job vacancies nationwide surged 13.9 percent in July, marking a turnaround in the new financial year after job vacancies fell for the three months previous.
Darrell Hewton, General Manager, Sales & Marketing for IPA Recruitment who compiled the data, believes anxiety levels among employers has receded from the heights of recent months.
“I would describe employers as cautiously optimistic. There is less concern about the global outlook and local prospects look encouraging for businesses.”
Hewton believes employers who have held off for the last few months are now entering the market.
“Employers who have resisted taking on staff are now sufficiently confident about the 12-month outlook to make the commitment to expand their teams.”
The Federal election is proving not to put a freeze on recruitment intentions, with business reasonably confident the Fair Work Act wont change dramatically no matter who wins the next election.
“Business hates political uncertainty, especially around the future of industrial relations laws. However, with few policy differences distinguishing the parties and the prospect of a settled IR landscape for the next few years regardless of who wins, employers are relatively relaxed about the result,” continued Hewton.
Demand for human resources and industrial relations specialists spiked in July, with new awards coming into effect in addition to companies bringing on HR staff in order to manage an anticipated period of additional hiring.
With the introduction of modern awards in July, we are seeing increasing need for HR and IR staff across the board. We also see continued demand for accounting and finance roles along with drivers, general labourers, engineering and trades-related staff for the remainder of this year.” Hewton said.
The spike in job vacancies haven’t lead to an increase in wage pressures, with candidates now in a better bargaining position than earlier this year.
“Whilst bargaining power has shifted to candidates, generally candidates are seeking modest wage rises. However, there are hot spots such as mining and specialist IT where wage inflation is strong.” Hewton said.
