Employers seeking HR skills are increasing salaries to contend with dwindling application numbers. That’s according to the latest insights from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo).
The data, provided by Veritone Hire, revealed that HR salaries increased by 5% year-on-year in July and by 6% over the last three months, as employers contend with acute skills shortages. However, applications for contract and permanent positions have declined at an alarming rate – down 24% and 11% respectively over the last month – with organisations struggling to fill roles. This mirrors the trend seen over the last year where HR applications decreased by 36% for contract assignments and 28% for permanent jobs.
While the data suggests that employers have increased salaries to attract new hires in a talent scarce environment, it is also likely that they are awarding current staff pay rises to help their retention strategies.
Ann Swain, Global CEO at APSCo comments:
“We have seen a significant fall in both permanent and contract HR job numbers over the last year. However, what is more concerning is the drop noted in application numbers. Employers are attempting to tackle this skills deficit by boosting salaries to not only attract more talent, but also help their existing staff manage inflationary and other financial pressures driven by the cost-of-living crisis. Employers will certainly be hoping that the new government may signal a change in fortunes for what has been a relatively beleaguered sector.”
Featured Photo by William Warby on Unsplash.