According to Australia’s IPA Recruitment, while employment demand dipped in January, with the latest monthly data from the recruitment firm showing job vacancies falling 6% over January, compared to 6.5% growth in December, the final week in January was strong, with demand back to early December levels.

At the same time, IPA experienced a 73% surge in candidate applications in January.  “The jump in applications reflects people acting on their New Year’s resolution to change role,” commented Rabieh Krayem, CEO of IPA.

Krayem said this month’s figures understate the health of the jobs market.  “December was an especially good month, while January had a slow start. With January finishing strongly and forward orders for February from employers looking very positive, I believe the jobs market is still on a steady upward trend.”

According to IPA, the temporary market remains strong whilst the permanent market is steady. “We’re seeing a strong temporary market, a trend that has been maintained for several months.  Many employers still prefer to have staff on our books rather than theirs.  We’ll know that confidence is back to pre-GFC levels when these temporary staff become permanent,” clarified the CEO.

Krayem went on to say that he sees the current market as an opportunity for Australian employers: “The pool of quality candidates is now large. This pool will contract should the economy continue to improve as hoped. As qualified candidates begin to move to new positions, employers that do not prepare will miss out on the most qualified and ready-to-work candidates.”