Employers may face new recruitment challenges as pressures mount in a highly competitive job market, according to the latest Job Report from NIJobs.
Recruitment difficulties are now commonplace for businesses but rising employer costs, which are likely to exacerbate employee dissatisfaction, could trigger another wave of resignations in 2025.
The NIJobs Job Report, authored by leading economist Richard Ramsey, examines hiring trends and the most in-demand jobs alongside the current economic backdrop.
Richard says; “Whilst many people are grappling with what Trump 2.0 will mean for economies, sectors, and businesses, some quarters within the recruitment world are suggesting we could see a sequel to The Great Resignation. Triggers of this include return-to-work orders following the pandemic-induced rollout of working from home.”
Major global companies such as Amazon, AT&T, and JP Morgan have all recently declared remote working obsolete for their employees. In Northern Ireland, similar trends are emerging, with local employers encouraging staff to spend more time in the office.
The latest NIJobs figures reveal that the proportion of job listings specifying fully remote work is 31% lower than the same period last year. However, ‘hybrid working’ is holding steady. In Q4 2024, almost 11% of all job vacancies were hybrid roles. This was more than twice the number of positions advertised as ‘Remote’ (4.6%) and compares with 1 in 500 jobs (0.2%) in Q4 2019.
Richard continues; “Talk of a Great Resignation in 2025 presents a major challenge for employers to retain existing talent, let alone recruit new staff. Employers and employees are now under more cost pressures. Cost pressures for employees rather than a desire for a career/lifestyle change have increasingly come to the fore. The change in the economic environment could also see employers become more cost-conscious and less willing or able to continue with certain benefits and above-inflation pay rises. According to the Wall Street Journal, Netflix has reportedly been ‘walking back’ its policy on unlimited time off for new parents. Housing costs, in particular, could force employees to look elsewhere to get a meaningful pay rise.
“We will be increasingly exposed to Donald Trump’s three-word slogans. In the recruitment world, it remains to be seen whether The Great Resignation 2.0 materialises or we see, as Trump might say, “Churn, Baby, Churn.”