Temp & Perm Office Recruitment – Market Commentary April 2015

Office administration employment opportunities maintained their momentum during the first quarter of 2015. We’ve seen a large volume of short term contracts being offered.  There has been a lot of demand for bookkeepers and customer service staff with clients needing specialised computer software packages.  Our recent experience has been that clients are very flexible with hours worked, in addition to being prepared to pay a higher rate for the right person.

The salary range for permanent roles does not appear to have shifted over the past eighteen months and the industries with most demand include manufacturing, warehousing and medical.  Hourly rates for temps can vary from $25 to $35 depending on experience and qualifications required, and permanent salaries are sitting around $45K to $65K for middle range office staffing roles.

Moving into the second quarter of 2015, the Easter break slowed the pace down with quite a few clients electing to close for additional days.  As we draw closer to May, we are anticipating that demand for quality staff will increase again and we are registering candidates in readiness for the next surge of hiring.

The current trend of recruiting a temp with a view to offering a permanent role continues and as such, we encourage candidates to be more open to accepting temporary assignments. As we have found time and time again, gaining a ‘foot in the door’ can often progress to a permanent opportunity.