Four in ten marketers expect recruitment ‘boost’ over next three months
Over half (54.1%) of marketers believe employment numbers at their companies will stay the same over the coming quarter, while just 7.1% predict job losses.
Despite the impact inflation and the Ukraine crisis is having on businesses, marketers are signalling a “robust” outlook for recruitment over the next three months.
In fact, almost four in ten (38.8%) marketers report “strong intentions” to boost employment within their companies, according to IPA Bellwether data gathered exclusively for Marketing Week.
Over half (54.1%) of respondents believe employment numbers at their companies will stay the same, while just 7.1% predict job losses.
That leaves a net balance of 31.6% of firms planning to hire, a 3.7 percentage point increase since the last survey in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Fewer jobs losses are anticipated this quarter than the last, when 9.8% of marketers expected staffing reductions in their firms. Expectations of employment levels staying the same has risen, however, from 52.5%.
| Higher | Same | Lower | Net +/- | ||
| Q4 2020 | 21.8% | 55.3% | 22.9% | -1.2% | |
| Q1 2021 | 29.9% | 58.1% | 12.0% | +17.9% | |
| Q2 2021 | 42.6% | 47.5% | 9.8% | +32.8% | |
| Q3 2021 | 46.6% | 45.5% | 7.9% | +38.7% | |
| Q4 2021 | 37.7% | 52.5% | 9.8% |
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| Q1 2022 | 38.8% | 54.1% | 7.1% | +31.6% |
With a net balance for the first quarter of 2022 among the highest since the series began in 2016, the report says this “robust outlook” for recruitment comes at a time “when many businesses are looking to capitalise on the post-pandemic economic bounce”.
“By boosting workforce numbers, firms will increase their capacity and be able to accommodate for higher levels of client demand,” the Bellwether explains.
However, labour market conditions remain “intensely challenging” for businesses as they compete for highly-skilled labour, which is in short supply.
“Nevertheless, despite high competition for staff bidding up wages and adding further pressure to business costs, it’s encouraging to see that companies still have clear intentions to hire additional staff and create the conditions for growth,” the report says.
Data from Marketing Week’s 2022 Career and Salary Survey earlier this year revealed more than half (56.9%) of marketers are either ready for a change of job or currently considering it.
This figure is in addition to the more than a quarter of marketers (27.9%) who had changed roles in the previous 12 months, up on the 25.8% who took on a new job last year.
The exclusive survey finds 27.9% left their role to learn new skills, while 27.2% were looking for a change of direction and 19.8% said the pandemic had made them rethink their priorities.
A further 18% said they had been attracted by their new business’s culture, while 14.2% were in search of a company that aligned with their personal views. Some 12.8% said the change of role had been brought about by redundancy, while 10.5% have switched jobs over the past year in search of flexible working.
