Throughout 2024, I have been sharing my thoughts and insights as we’ve navigated this rollercoaster of a year in recruitment. The recruitment market has experienced highs and lows, due to budget restraints I have seen less movement in salaries this year. Attrition rates are historically low, which has limited new job creation and innovation within companies. Although we are starting to see a very slight increase in roles towards the end of the year with slow but steady improvement in market conditions.
Across our 6 hubs…
- In Brazil the economy has stabilised under the new government, although the market is still slow and we are yet to see the market bounce back to pre 2023 levels.
- Post Covid, many people emigrated away from Hong Kong, since there has been a persistent shortage of talent, however, 2024 has seen a gradual recover in the trade and tourism space.
- We have seen continued growth in India, especially in HR operations. Challenges remain prevalent in the quality and trust in recruitment.
- Singapore has had modest economic growth and talent scarcity has been driving up demand for higher wages.
- Resilience has been shown in the mid-level HR job market in the UK, despite being in the midst of a technical recession; this being said, senior roles have been more sluggish.
- The US has seen improvement in job quality over volume, with a focus on cost saving and HR efficiencies.
Overall, the HR market has been buoyant this year. We have seen resilience across the board and some recruitment slowly building towards the end of the year. There has been a lot of movement in HR Ops, with many support services being moved to lower-cost, high-value locations like India. We have witnessed a shift towards more strategic HR functions as companies look beyond cost saving. The Comp & Bens space has seen a consistent demand for roles, which we believe has been influenced by a higher data-driven approach to decision making; in turn, there has been a growing need for specialised roles in HRIS, to manage and optimise new HR systems. With the focus shifting to data we have seen a reduced emphasis in dedicated roles to support wellbeing, despite the ongoing relevance of mental health.
Looking now at talent management, budget constraints are forcing businesses to be creative in their approaches to attracting and retaining their top talent, underpinning the importance of good HR management. Towards the end of this year, we have seen a slight incline in recruiting, showing a recovery from significant declines in 2023, with an emphasis on effective Employee Value Propositions. When speaking about talent we often hear about DEI strategies, this year we have seen a decreased focus in this space, due to pressures to demonstrate ROI, will we see a rebound in 2025?
My advice for any HR professional looking for your next move is to be flexible; this is crucial to show that you can adapt to the ever-evolving market conditions. Networking remains key for discovering new opportunities, so do what you can to stay connected. I would encourage you all to focus on demonstrating your value beyond traditional roles, upskilling in a more strategic and data-driven capacity.
Finally, I would like to wish our candidates, clients and my network a Merry Christmas and all the best for 2025!