Fewer jobs are available in the advertising and marketing industry as companies cut recruitment in the face of an uncertain economic outlook, according to recruiters.
The job market is further restricted with the opening of border post pandemic lockdown and the return of international talent to Australia.
This is a contrast to 2022’s candidate-driven market which saw high demand for staff, and escalating salaries for some, as agencies rebuild teams after the initial pull back from COVID-19.
“Companies are running leaner teams and marketing is often the first area to suffer,” Annie Sharrock, talent agent, marketing, at Aquent Australia, told AdNews.
"Businesses are now scaling back on some of their activities, looking at the most effective ways to achieve ROI.”
The first budget cuts have been to the juniors who demanded $100,000 plus for roles during last year's under-pressure recruitment decisions.
Digital advertising and adtech job vacancy rates plunged to 4.5% in July from 11.8% in the same month last year, according to the IAB Australia-2023 Industry Talent Report.
Recruiters say companies are hesitant to commit to anything new, including longer-term projects and hiring senior/strategic roles.
More are also moving to a contract-centric approach to relieve long-term business commitments, says Aquent Australia.
Australia has also had an influx of skilled marketing talent from overseas, now that COVID restrictions have been lifted, making the job market even more competitive with an increasing pool of talent to choose from.
Ryan Kelly, founder and CEO of creative, digital and marketing recruitment agency Creative Natives, has helped many companies look overseas for fresh talent.
“We have placed a number of talent from the UK in the last six months,” Kelly said.
“My prediction is that in the second half of this year we will see a surge in overseas talent as well as demand for freelancers as companies worry about the threat of an economic downturn.”
Overall, with less in-demand jobs, budget cuts and an increasing pool of talent has caused passive candidates (those not actively looking, but would be open to opportunities) to stabilise for the time being.
“However, it’s not all doom and gloom as we do expect this to change as we head into the new financial year,” Jimmy Sutton, senior talent agent, marketing, at Aquent Australia, told AdNews.
“As inflation stabilises and new budgets are set for most businesses across the country, they can look at investing in senior roles and focus on longer-term growth instead of optimisation or survival.”
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