Hires to ramp up 46% Australia-wide

Aussie employers will be looking to increasingly hire in the latter half of 2023. What’s fuelling the demand?

The latest research from Robert Half shows optimistic hiring intentions for the second half of 2023.

According to the recruiter, almost half of Australian bosses (46 per cent) have plans to hire for vacated positions in the next six months. This is up from 39 per cent six months ago.

When asked what’s driving increased hiring needs, 34 per cent of employers said company growth, while 29 per cent said company performance, indicating that businesses are adjusting to tougher market conditions.

Continued skills shortages also seem to be a consistent theme, with 23 per cent of employers saying they’re hiring more due to the availability of qualified candidates, while 23 per cent said economic forecasts were influencing their increased recruitment activity.

On the opposite end, just 8 per cent of Aussie employers foresee hiring freezes in the next six months, and just 3 per cent are expecting to action layoffs.

A state-by-state breakdown shows West Australian businesses are more ambitious in hiring than other counterparts, with 44 per cent expecting to increase headcount.

Meanwhile, 41 per cent of employers in Queensland and Victoria expect the same, followed by 40 per cent in NSW.

An equal percentage of large companies and SMEs (42 per cent) anticipate recruiting staff in the second half of 2023.

“As the new financial year commences, attitudes around hiring decisions have been refreshed for the next six months and beyond,” said Nicole Gorton, director at Robert Half.

“Budget and project approvals have kickstarted the need for companies to strategically hire for new or vacated positions in order to support growth initiatives and strengthen their service offering to stay ahead of their competitors.”

Economic conditions continue to be a foreseeable challenge for many businesses, Ms Gorton noted.

“The skills shortage in Australia remains, but the urgency or velocity of that demand is impacted by the prolonged period of macroeconomic uncertainty. By the same token, for companies who plan to hire in the near future, we see they are taking a very deliberate and strategic approach to their decisions,” she said.

“With more stakeholder approvals and time needed to get new hires over the line, organisations are ensuring the talent they bring in is the best they can find, and who bring serious added value to their bottom line.”

Overall, the future looks bright for companies filling to expand their headcount in the latter half of this year, Ms Gorton said, noting: “Companies know that stagnancy is the enemy of growth, so they are working within their limits to tactically hire headcount while sticking to company-set boundaries. This is precisely what is shaping today’s hiring landscape, and while hiring to support specific initiatives and projects has seen the need for new talent, it has often resulted in freezing headcount in other areas of the business.

“While companies continue to take a cautious approach to expand their teams, they understand that having cutting-edge technical capabilities on their side to replace vacated roles is essential to staying ahead and starting off the new financial year strong.”