Temp & Perm Office Recruitment -Market Commentary July 2014

Hiring confidence can best be described as erratic at present – weeks of strong demand for office professionals followed by weeks of weak demand. There’s no doubt the federal budget created a fair amount of negative sentiment a few months ago however a range of companies have decided to get on with business. Candidates who are in permanent jobs are largely sticking to what they have. For those candidates who are in the process of applying for a specific role, it is extremely important that your resume meets the primary requirements of the position. Hiring managers need to see how you meet their hiring criteria and this needs to jump off the page!

Victoria
The current enquiries we’re receiving from clients are generally for temp or temp-to-permanent roles rather than initial offers of long term permanent opportunities. A constant comment made by many candidates over the last few months is “it’s quiet out there”. Candidates who gravitate primarily to the ‘professional temp’ environment are experiencing a slowdown in the continuity of temporary assignments. However, there are glimpses of activity, mainly with small to medium sized businesses.

Most demand from clients is for office administration, data entry and accounts staff. There appears to be no distinct fluctuation in pay rates which have remained stable during the course of 2014.

New South Wales
The current market trends in New South Wales seem vastly different to that of Victoria. There has been a steady increase in permanent positions as opposed to temporary opportunities which currently seem a little quieter than usual. The demand for top quality candidates to fill these permanent roles is a constant for us.

Hiring managers are noticeably more selective in their quest to find the most suitable candidate for the required role. With an increasing work load, these hiring managers are also handing over more of the recruitment process to agencies like ourselves.

A number of opportunities have opened up in the medical industry for office managers, receptionists and junior office administrators. We have also seen continued growth for sales support roles both on a temp and full time basis.

Like Melbourne, pay rates appear relatively stable.