January Employment Update
‘Closing Loopholes’ Bill Expected to Pass with Support from Crossbench
Key Senate crossbenches David Pocock and Jacqui Lambie have reached a deal with the government to pass the Closing the Loopholes No.2 Bill - which is expected to pass through the Senate. The legislation, and a full explanation of Senator Pocock’s amendments, are yet to be finalised but there is likely to be further changes to casual employment practices.
As reported by the Recruitment and Consulting Services Australia (RCSA), changes include a definition of employment that will impact future independent contracting arrangements. Though the draft changes are yet to be disclosed by Cross Bench Senators, a media release issued by Senator Pocock yesterday evening stated that his amendments would:
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Ensure the changes to casuals' provisions will not be enforced for six months after Royal Assent, to give businesses and employers time to adjust to these new frameworks
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Broaden the capacity for employees to enter into fixed term contracts as casual employees. The amendment would ensure all other employees may be engaged on fixed term contracts as casual; except for academics covered by certain modern awards in the higher education sector. This largely resolves concerns raised by on-hire companies offering temp contracts.
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Allow employers to refuse an employee request for conversion on “fair and reasonable operational grounds”
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Increase from one to two (out of three) the number of criteria someone needs to meet to be defined as employee-like
Once the details are finalised, additional information will be shared regarding the legislation.
Clear softening in tech jobs and flexible work expectations
The latest Jobs Report released by the RCSA shows hiring demand crashed 12.7% in the December quarter alone, and 14.3% across 2023.
The December quarter decline followed slowing in September and June, down 2.1% and 0.6% respectively, after a 2.8% rise in March.
While job listings fell, the overall employment market remains relatively strong with unemployment at just 3.9%.
Permanent job postings in Australia fell 16.9% over the year, while demand for flexible employment was down 5.3%.
Industry publication, Shortlist reported "Data collected over the next three months will give us a good indication of what we can expect over the next year," says RCSA’s CEO Charles Cameron.
By industry, all sectors except public administration and safety (up 9.8%) experienced declines in 2023. Professional services saw the biggest drop, down 29% after peaking in November 2021 (the end of COVID lockdowns). Healthcare fell 12.8% after declining in the past three consecutive quarters. Demand for technology professionals fell by 34.6% throughout the year.
Across Australia, Tasmania was the only region to record an annual rise in hiring demand, up 15.3%. NSW reported the biggest decline (down 25.6%), followed by SA (down 19.1%) and Victoria experienced a modest but notable decrease in hiring demand of 16.5%.
Job applications are again on the rise
According to Shortlist, some 76% of Australian professionals are considering a job change this year, new research shows.
The recent Censuswide survey of 1,000 professionals suggests this figure is up 15% on the previous year.
Further, job-search activity on LinkedIn, including applications, has shown a similar (16%) increase in Australia.
According to LinkedIn, the biggest motivators are higher wages (49%) and the desire for better work-life balance (33%). The data also suggests Australians are open to exploring new career paths, with many professionals (52%) actively seeking opportunities outside their current industry or role.
Meanwhile, LinkedIn's latest Jobs on the Rise list says the fastest-growing jobs in Australia are cyber security analyst, crime analyst, workplace specialist, and sustainability manager.
Half of accepted job offers abandoned
In a report from HRM Online, recent research reveals that within a 12-month period, half of candidates have accepted a job offer and then backed out at the last minute.
In a survey of over 3500 job candidates, one in two respondents said they had backed out of a job offer after accepting a position within a 12-month period.
The research, conducted last year by Gartner, also found more than half of HR leaders (59%) expect competition for talent to intensify in the coming months, indicating a risk that this trend will continue to cause problems for recruiters seeking in-demand skills. However, the softening in the job market in the most recent few months may tell a different story- only time will tell.
According to the research, the top reasons why candidates ditched one job offer in favour of another were greater flexibility (59%) and better work-life balance (45%), with higher remuneration representing only 40%.
Given candidates’ strong focus on flexibility, it’s noteworthy that the uptick in employees abandoning job offers has coincided with an increase in return-to-office mandates. According to AHRI research, mandated office days increased by 11 percentage points (to 48%) between 2022 and 2023.