Australian employers more likely to hire in the second half of 2023

Sydney, 28 July 2023 – More companies are planning to hire staff in the second half of 2023 than first intended at the start of the year, new independent research by specialised recruiter Robert Half finds.

As a sign that Australia is still suffering from a skills shortage and that businesses are adjusting into today’s hiring landscape, almost half of Australian employers (46%) have plans to hire for vacated positions in the next six months, up from 39% in a similar survey six months ago.

The findings come as the latest ABS Labour Force statistics show that unemployment rate remains at historic lows¹ while job mobility also remains at the highest rate in a decade for the second year in a row². As a result, employers are competing harder than ever to secure the best talent for their strategic hires.

What’s driving increased hiring needs

When asked what factors are influencing their hiring decisions, top responses among Australian employers were company growth (34%), company performance (29%), the availability of qualified candidates (23%) and economic forecasts (23%).

Hiring plans breakdown

Only 8% of employers foresee hiring freezes in the next six months, while a small 3% are actioning layoffs in their departments.

Hiring intentions	January 2023	June 2023
Expand headcount	36%	42%
Maintain headcount	39%	46%
Freeze headcount	12%	8%
Reduce headcount	5%	3%
Unsure	8%	1%

Western Australian businesses have slightly greater hiring ambitions than those in other Australian states, with 44% planning to expand headcount, compared to 41% in Queensland and Victoria and 40% in New South Wales. An equal percentage of large companies and SMEs (42%) anticipate recruiting staff in the second half of 2023. Only 30% of SMEs had plans to expand their teams at the start of the year, pointing to growing business confidence. 

“As the new financial year commences, attitudes around hiring decisions have been refreshed for the next six months and beyond. Budget and project approvals have kickstarted the need for companies to strategically hire for new or vacated positions in order to support growth initiatives and strengthen their service offering to stay ahead of their competitors,” said Nicole Gorton, Director at Robert Half.

“The skills shortage in Australia remains but the urgency or velocity of that demand is impacted by the prolonged period of macro-economic uncertainty. By the same token, for companies who plan to hire in the near future, we see they are taking a very deliberate and strategic approach to their decisions. With more stakeholder approvals and time needed to get new hires over the line, organisations are ensuring the talent they bring in is the best they can find, and who bring serious added value to their bottom line.

“Companies know that stagnancy is the enemy of growth, so they are working within their limits to tactically hire headcount while sticking to company-set boundaries. This is precisely what is shaping today’s hiring landscape, and while hiring to support specific initiatives and projects has seen the need for new talent, it has often resulted in freezing headcount in other areas of the business. While companies continue to take a cautious approach to expand their teams, they understand that having cutting-edge technical capabilities on their side to replace vacated roles is essential to staying ahead and starting off the new financial year strong,” concludes Gorton.

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Labour Force

2. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Job Mobility

Robert Half - hiring trends - July 2023.pdf

Notes to editors

About the research

The study is developed by Robert Half and was conducted online in June 2023 by an independent research company, surveying 300 hiring managers, including 100 CFOs and 100 CIOs, from companies across Australia. This survey is part of the international workplace survey, a questionnaire about job trends, talent management and trends in the workplace.