A recruitment agency has highlighted the ongoing intense competition in the job market as businesses strive to recover from recent setbacks.
Despite significant downsizing in the public sector and a rise in unemployment rates, Beyond Recruitment has observed a slight improvement in job listings compared to the previous year.
The co-director of the company, Ben Pearson, noted a significant decline in job vacancies over the past two years, leading to a highly competitive job market.
“There’s still a large pool of job seekers, making it extremely competitive to secure a job,” Pearson stated.
While there are shortages in specialized areas like public sector policy, Pearson emphasized that competition remains fierce across various corporate roles, with many candidates showing hesitancy in accepting job offers.
Unexpectedly, there has been an increase in job offer refusals, with candidates opting to stay with their current employers or showing reluctance to make a move.
Despite challenges in the recruitment process, Pearson found it unusual that many individuals were declining job offers, possibly due to loyalty to their existing employers amidst mass redundancies.
Seek’s latest report indicated a modest increase in job ads in March, the first positive change in over two years. However, job applications per listing rose, reflecting the intense competition in the job market.
Trade Me’s annual jobs market report also highlighted a rise in job applications and listings in the first quarter of the year, with a significant number of respondents expressing intentions to seek new opportunities in 2025.
While job seekers cited reasons such as workplace culture, pay, and career prospects for considering a job change, Trade Me’s Head of Jobs, Nicole Williams, noted a growing sense of optimism among job seekers for the year ahead.
Despite the challenges in finding new roles, Williams emphasized the positive momentum in the job market, particularly compared to the previous year.
The overall job market remains tough for job seekers, with notable declines in listings in certain regions, but the outlook is slightly brighter compared to the end of 2024.
