Fred Recruitment November Update

It’s nearly over folks, one more month to go. I don’t know if many of us picked 2024 for the year it’s turned out to be. We certainly didn’t see it coming!

Against all odds Fred has grown by 150% in the first 8 months, and has some pretty exciting plans for the future. It has been an extremely challenging year to build an agency in some ways, yet the determination and positivity from our team leaves us with no doubt we have a very driven, amazing crew of people on board with us. We have all absolutely loved developing new relationships in business, and it has been so uplifting reconnecting with our favourite people and teams.

So, what has Fred noticed in the market this month?

• The total number of applicants applying for our jobs has reduced month on month since September, indicating the market may slowly be on the turn.
• Job vacancies are up on all advertising platforms we use for the third consecutive month.
• Redundancy numbers remain high; Fred talks with between 300-500 job seekers weekly – while vast numbers apply for work, the pool of genuinely suitable candidates is still small.
• The passive market is motivated by industry sector security and people will move for a role that offers long term stability. 65% of Fred’s successful placements in Oct/Nov came from the passive market showing the value of investment in search-ability, and working with an agency that reaches all of the market and not just the active job seeker.
• The recruitment / agency experience is under pressure; the trickle down effect of a very tight market from management to consultants has not always resulted in a positive outcome, choosing your recruitment partner carefully has never been more important.
• Some very encouraging conversations within the commercial construction industry indicate that the building market may be finally set to turn a corner again towards the second quarter of 2025.

We are all looking forward to a well earned break over the Christmas period, just 4 more weeks to go! If you have any last minute staffing requirements, or you want to set your teams up for a January start, we’d love to have a conversation with you.

Wishing you a safe and productive last month of 2024!