What will the job market look like in April and quarter 2?
We’re seeing more and more new jobs hitting our desks each week, a complete contrast to what we saw this time last year, which gives us great confidence in the job market and how it is moving.
With so much movement going on, we thought we would give you some insight into our industries, to see how they are performing and what we’re expecting in terms of recruitment over the next quarter.
Agency recruitment
Over the past 3 months we have seen agencies go from strength to strength, with many looking to take on new hires during April and quarter 2, either due to winning new business or having existing clients return after a difficult year. This is a similar picture across the board, with large and smaller agencies taking advantage of the turn in the market.
Digital remains strong
Demand for specialist digital skillsets such as SEO, PPC and paid social to name a few, are spearheading recruitment plans across the industry, as many clients continue to see a huge benefit in holding a strong digital presence.
It’s been clear to date that a key challenge has been sourcing these candidates, due to hesitancy within the job seeker market and a shortage of candidates within many specialist digital skillsets.
Though we are predominantly expecting the demand for digital skills such as SEO, PPC and paid social to continue growing, as lockdowns lift, we are hoping to see more available talent enter the market, making resourcing for these roles less of a challenge.
In recent weeks we have had agencies contact us with requests for digital designers, UX/UI designers, creative directors, videographers and copywriters, due to an increase in projects which require creative outputs.
Moving into quarter 2 we anticipate seeing this drive continuing, with (fingers crossed) the volume of recruitment across the creative industry returning to normal levels.
Account Handling growing
We reported a 93% drop in the volume of account handling roles during 2020, likely because these roles are reliant on agencies managing ongoing projects and growing business, both of which were hugely impacted during the pandemic.
However, as agencies begin to grow their client base, they are looking to employ more Account Executives and Account Managers to help manage the load. Already seeing more of these roles come up, we are hoping to see account handling at the top of most agencies recruitment lists during quarter 2.
In-house recruitment
E-commerce growth
As with agencies, the demand for digital talent within the in-house sector is continuing to grow, however we are seeing higher levels of demand for these skills within the e-commerce industry.
As 25% of British consumers are expecting to permanently shift towards shopping online, more brands are either future proofing themselves or starting to enhance their digital channels in readiness for future consumer behaviours. This is driving growth in demand for specialist digital skillsets across the e-commerce industry, a trend we anticipate to continue to gather momentum in quarter 2 as wider disposable income increases once lockdowns are lifted.
Senior talent in demand
Dependent on their sector, many in-house brands have been hard hit over the course of the past year, and when looking to expand or re-build their teams as markets begin to recover, most eyes are on the senior end of the market.
This is because companies are looking for talent that holds a certain level of experience in supporting business growth during tough economic climates, and feel they are a safer and more economically wise investment than a junior hire.
This may mean we continue to experience challenging times for the junior and graduate candidate market and our Associate Director Heidi recently penned her thoughts around why graduate/junior recruitment is important.
Freelance & Temporary recruitment
Agencies + business = freelance
Freelancers have really taken a hit during the past year and are yet to see substantial signs of recovery and stability. However, with many freelancers relying on agencies for a significant proportion of their bookings, it would make sense that the busier agencies get the more work freelancers will see coming through.
We’re expecting this to be a gradual process as agencies establish which areas they have capacity in and which they don’t, but as business starts to build and client demands begin to exceed capacity or skillset knowledge, we are hoping to see demand for freelancers increase during quarter 2. There we said it!
Restructures
As in-house businesses have weathered the storm and are now beginning to rebuild, many are looking towards corporate restructures as a way to ensure their businesses are future proofed. In many organisations this is likely to leave some temporary gaps in talent whilst the transition is taking effect, meaning that demand for fixed term contractors is likely to increase.
To find out more about Pitch and how we can help your recruitment strategy during April quarter 2, you can speak with a member of our team.
