Research and commentary by The CV & Interview Advisors

A few weeks ago, one of our chartered institute clients mentioned some research that suggested "90% of workers are considering a new job in 2023".

The statistic really piqued our interest, so over the last few weeks we’ve been doing some of our own research to assess just how many people are looking for a new job right now.

The current economy

The backdrop to this is sluggish economic conditions with the ONS reporting a 14.5% decrease in vacancies versus this time last year, including significant falls in areas such as information and communication, and professional scientific and technical sectors.

In fact, vacancies declined in 13 of 18 industry sectors.

Our research

So just how many people are looking for a new job?

Our research was aimed at the professional and executive end of the market and highlighted the following:

🛑49% are actively seeking a new job

🛑20% would move for the right role

🛑17% are happy where they are

🛑14% are looking to stop working altogether

The 'great resignation'

Unless it’s just wishful thinking, the statistics show that the ‘great resignation’ is still in full flow, with 14% of respondents looking to leave the workforce. This should create some opportunities for the 69% who are either actively of passively seeking a new role, but it’s eye opening to learn that only 17% of workers are content in their current jobs.

Reasons?

The cost-of-living crisis may have something to do with this, with people at all levels seeking a higher pay cheque to cover their increased household bills.

It also highlights the challenges facing employers to balance their own books versus offering pay rises to their employees. It also highlights the importance of employer branding and being able to attract and retain staff for more reasons than just their pay packet.

Challenges for job seekers

Whatever the reasons, what is obvious is a complete change in the job market, which has pivoted from a ‘candidate short’ to a ‘candidate rich’ market.

Notwithstanding complaints from recruiters that the best candidates are hard to find, the competition for jobs is certainly a lot higher than it was a year ago, and we are back to a market where job seekers need to up their game to get noticed and attract interviews and job offers.

It’s hard to get exact figures, but taking an average from various sources there are approximately 100 applicants for every job.

Gaining an advantage

So, what are job seekers doing to give themselves an advantage?

Well, we recently ran two polls during some recent webinars, asking the audience about their motivations and spending habits.

Our polls indicated that a significant 23% of job seekers have spent money on career services such as a professional CV writing services. That means for every vacancy there are 23 people who have invested money into improving their employability and attractiveness to a future employer.

Priorities

This is unsurprising given that 83% of people that we surveyed stated that their career / job was more important than going on holiday, having the latest electronic equipment, buying a new car or home improvements.

But as unsurprising as this is, it was also interesting to highlight that despite over three quarters of the respondents feeling that their job / career is more important to their financial security and mental wellbeing, the vast majority were still spending more money on cars, holidays and entertainment than investing in their career prospects.

Something many vowed to address after the webinar!

Conclusion

So, to conclude:

✅ The number of people looking for jobs is very high

✅ The number of vacancies is declining

✅ A significant percentage of job seekers are willing to invest their hard-earned cash to secure a job that gives them the financial security and mental wellbeing that they deserve.

What are your thoughts?