Temporary jobs dominating as employers ‘hesitant to overcommit’

Recent research on the Australian job market has recapped the impact of the economy on the hiring practices of employers across the country.

New data from JobAdder’s 2025 State of the Market Report reveals a transformed Australian job market defined by surging job applications, declining permanent roles, and a sudden pivot toward temporary staffing, with employers navigating economic uncertainty.

According to the data, job applications across Australia reached record highs in 2024, skyrocketing by 44 per cent over the past year and 167 per cent since 2022. However, job creation fell by 5.4 per cent in 2024, intensifying competition for recruiters.

Recruitment agencies grappled with an average of 41 applicants per role in Q4 2024, while the number of jobs per agency dropped to 52.5 – a 5.6 per cent decline from Q4 2023.

“Recruitment is no longer about attracting candidates but managing high volumes and identifying quality talent, urging agencies to overhaul hiring strategies for efficiency,” said Martin Herbst, chief executive of jobadder.com.

The jobs that these candidates are flocking to apply for, however, highlight a striking trend in the dominance of temporary and contract roles, which climbed to 80 per cent of all placements in 2024 – up from 78 per cent in 2023. Overall, permanent roles now account for just 20 per cent, down from 26 per cent in 2022, as businesses prioritise flexibility amid economic turmoil.

“Employers are hesitant to overcommit to new hires while relying on temporary staff to manage fluctuating workloads.

“The trend presents an opportunity for agencies to diversify into temporary staffing, tapping into new revenue streams aligned with employer demands,” said Herbst.

Job boards remain the primary recruitment channel despite the well-known prolonged hiring timelines that affect both parties – with 79 per cent of agency placements in Q4 2024 coming from job boards.

Speaking to this longer timeline, filling permanent roles via job boards took 42.7 days on average – 15.9 days longer than other methods. The data showed that, in contrast, proactive sourcing proved significantly faster, with permanent roles filled 1.6 times quicker and temporary roles 5.6 times faster. Yet, internal database applications fell to just 21 per cent in Q4 2024.

Herbst criticised the continued over-reliance on job boards, noting that AI-driven applications have flooded agencies with underqualified candidates: “Sifting through these wastes time. Proactive strategies leveraging internal databases offer a competitive edge.”