New insight says firms are 'still working harder to fill roles than they were prior to the onset of COVID-19'
Recruitment intensity in Australia is beginning to pick up again after a sharp decline during the pandemic, according to a new insight from SEEK.
Blair Chapman, SEEK senior economist, defines recruitment intensity as the overall effort made by employers to attract and hire candidates. It also impacts how quickly they are able to fill an open role.
Intensity can be determined through four indicators, including ads per hirer, advertised salary growth, desired work experience, and applications per ad.
"The SEEK Recruitment Intensity Signal suggests recruitment intensity has picked up again recently, as reflected by slightly stronger growth in advertised salaries, an increase in no-experience job ads and an uptick in ads per hirer," Chapman said in the insight.
According to the report, recruitment intensity was logging gradual growth before the pandemic, which sparked a jump during March and April 2020 amid an increase in ads per hirer and growing advertised salaries.
"Recruitment intensity then troughs with the institution of stay-at-home orders before growing sharply as the economy reopened. It continued increasing through to mid-2023 before beginning to slow," Chapman said.
This latest increase in recruitment intensity follows this period of decline that occurred after the post-pandemic peak in 2023.
"Overall, the Recruitment Intensity Signal suggests that organisations are still working harder to fill roles than they were prior to the onset of COVID-19," the insight said.
Why it matters to employers
According to the insight, understanding recruitment intensity is important for employers.
"If recruitment intensity is increasing then it indicates that market wage offers are likely growing, which is important to consider in remuneration reviews and will likely have implications for staff retention," Chapman said in the insight.
"If staff do leave, when recruitment intensity is higher it suggests that finding the right new hire may be harder, take longer, or require more effort."
