Robert Walters Reports Noticeable Uplift in Job Vacancies

Retail Industry

The latest edition of the Robert Walters Global Jobs Index, published on November 19th, highlights a noticeable uplift in new job postings over the past month. The index, which tracks external job advertisements by major corporations worldwide, revealed the following key trends:

Key Insights

  1. Professional Roles Surge Globally

    Professional roles increased by 8.6% globally in October, compared to September.

  2. Tech, Media & Telecoms Growth

    The tech, media, and telecoms (TMT) sector reported a 14.2% increase in job openings, driven by falling interest rates that encouraged renewed investment in the industry.

  3. Regional Highlights

    Mexico led professional job creation in October, benefiting from the ongoing nearshoring boom.
    Canada emerged as “one to watch,” with long-term growth potential in tech and healthcare noted by Robert Walters’ experts.

  4. Financial services experienced a “muted” month for job growth due to the U.S. elections and the UK budget announcements.

Sector-Specific Trends

Industries experiencing significant hiring increases in October:

  • Retail, consumer goods & services: +29.3%
  • Basic materials: +15.1%
  • Technology, media & telecoms: +14.1%
  • Healthcare: +12.7%

Industries with minimal growth or declines:

  • Real estate: +4.9%
  • Financial services: +1.1%
  • Energy: -2.8%

CEO Toby Fowlston commented, “The latest figures from our Global Jobs Index are encouraging – and is a positive hint toward more traditional recruitment cycles returning, whereby October and the final quarter tends to be busy as companies ramp up seasonal hires or look to spend remaining hiring budgets before the close of the year. The uptick in roles across sectors like retail, consumer goods, technology, and healthcare reflect a broader, emerging demand for skilled talent as businesses recalibrate and position for growth.”

Tech Industry Highlights

An interesting trend in the TMT sector is the dominance of IT roles, which accounted for 69% of all newly created professional positions in October. This was followed by sales roles (12%) and marketing/PR roles (8%).

All top 10 countries reported growth in professional job vacancies within the TMT sector, with the most notable increases in:

  • Mexico: +26.8%
  • United Kingdom: +19.9%
  • Singapore: +18.9%
  • China: +17.1%

Germany and France also saw positive growth in this sector during October.

Investment-Driven Growth in Tech

Fowlston further explained, “The tech industry in particular is heavily reliant on investment, and with interest rates falling in October across a number of regions including the USA, European Union, and UK – this gave way to more favourable conditions for VCs to borrow and invest, which may be one of the reasons why there may be increased hiring activity in VC-backed firms. This would need to continue over a series of months (and quarters) for us to be able to confidently determine that the global tech sector is on a solid upward trajectory.

The next release of The Robert Walters Global Jobs Index is due for release on Tuesday 17 December 2024.  

Source:
Robert Walters Global Jobs Index: November 2024

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