Fred News – April/May 2025

Fred News

April was a busy month for the team at Fred. We continue to watch the market with a keen eye, and the good news is, we weren’t imagining it, we are definitely starting to see more positive consistent activity. With a small handful of our clients no longer cautious about growth, engaging Fred on significant recruitment drives. There is no denying we have turned a corner, maybe not a 180’ but a curve in the road for sure.

A couple of the Fred directors attended the Trade Me breakfast early April where we gained valuable insights into leading NZ economist Shamubeel Eaqub’s expectations for the coming year ahead. Some interesting data to consider below. One of the key points made was, for a country that has been in recession, how low our unemployment rate has actually been. Leading into another leading pain point – lack of available skilled talent – this is ranked the highest challenge in the hiring market, with this predicted to significantly worsen in the coming 12 months. An interesting stat considering the ‘flooded’ candidate market.

Interesting employment data drawn from Trademe’s report:

• A massive 84% of people we surveyed are open to new job opportunities or looking for work, and 40% of people plan to leave their current job in 2025. However, not all are actively seeking roles. Many are keeping an eye out, or are open to a role change if the right job opportunity presented itself
• Employees increasingly value flexibility in terms of where and when they work. This statistic more than tripled in 2025 – going from 4% in 2024 to 13%. The big takeaway is that employers need to offer flexible working arrangements to attract and keep top- quality talent
• 51% of all employers intend to replace staff, and 35% of employers also intend to hire to expand the business. These positive intentions are consistent with other surveys (NZIER’s QSBO & ANZ’s Business Outlook).
• Despite a perception that we’re in a tight, rich market, labour and skill shortages are already the leading challenge for businesses. This impact will be stronger as the economy improves, so building strong candidate pipelines, and being proactive with hiring great talent now is critical.
• Economic recovery is on the horizon, so businesses should plan ahead, before

  labour shortages return with a vengeance. In 2025, employers need to go all out to retain staff. They also need to plan recruitment for growth, and find the right people. This will ensure businesses make the most of the economy recovery.

Fred had a session with Seek this month. Roles advertised with Fred are sitting in the ‘high performing’ category against other ads in the same categories. This means when you advertise with us, we are getting maximum interest from the job seeker. That said, we know our reach to the passive market is essential too, with recent Seek data suggesting this quietly active sector of the market interested to chat with us, is as high as 60%.

If you have growth forecast, now is the time to start those conversations. Hiring processes are often stressful times for businesses, so if you would like to understand what’s happening in your industry around hiring and growth, or you have intentions to grow your teams, please feel free to reach out to the team at Fred for a confidential chat.