The economy and cost-of-living crisis have dominated the headlines for some time now. And let’s be honest – it’s not exactly sunshine and roses. The good news is that this shouldn’t stop you recruiting in 2023. In fact, there are lots of reasons why now could actually be the perfect time. Read on to find out why.

Reason #1: people are looking for jobs

We’ve had more than 6,000 job applications in January. That’s our highest level since April 2021. And while some of those are of course down to the ‘new year new job’ tradition, it’s a significant increase. One which shows us that job seekers are again feeling confident enough to look for and embrace new opportunities.

Here’s what Scott Woodrow, a Director here at Pure has to say about that – ‘It’s the most promising indication of job-seeker confidence since the end of the pandemic.’ It doesn’t get much better than that.

Reason #2: confidence in the market is high

We’re pleased to say that the threat of recession and other global challenges (like climate change) don’t seem to have affected recruiters’ confidence at the start of 2023. Clients continue to create new opportunities. In fact, we’ve seen a 67% month-on-month increase in the number of jobs that clients are advertising and looking to recruit through us. That’s really encouraging, especially in January.

The pandemic created a real imbalance in the job market as many employees chose to stay in jobs they otherwise might not have. This meant that in our region we didn’t see the effect of the expected ‘great resignation’ (an ongoing economic trend in which many people resigned from their jobs after the COVID-19 pandemic), with opportunities still greatly outstripping the availability of talent.

The good news is that this is now balancing out as confidence in the market grows.

Reason #3: we’re coming together again

Whether it’s a video call or face to face, we like to meet each and every one of our clients, and as many of our job seekers as we can. In the past month, we’ve seen the number of interviews with job seekers triple. That’s great news for recruiters. It’s also great news for us – these interviews give our consultants the chance to really get to know the people looking for jobs, and what they want from their careers. Building these quality relationships also means we can find the perfect match of skills, attitude and experience for clients too.

Bonus reason

The eastern region is in a great place when it comes to supporting the careers and development of people, and continues to report strong economic growth. So there are lots of reasons for both job seekers and businesses based here to be optimistic for the future.

Let us help you

We’re ready and waiting to find you the right people for your jobs. So whatever industry you work in, and whatever level you’re recruiting for, get in touch to find out how we can help.

Want to find out what makes your existing employees tick? Or looking to build a culture that people really want to work in? Best Employers could be the answer. Head to the website to find out more.