LinkedIn: Hiring is leveling off after historic highs

• The Latest annual Global Talent Trends report by LinkedIn, hiring around the world is no longer peaking, while the labor-market dynamics remain tight.
• LinkedIn, amid this uncertain backdrop, anticipates further deceleration in hiring from the historical highs seen last year.
• The report also shows that the work from home trend has peaked.

The tech industry’s hiring boom seems to be slowing down — and further deceleration is anticipated, at least according to the world’s largest professional network, LinkedIn. In its latest annual Global Talent Trends report, LinkedIn also unveiled data that shows remote work has passed its peak, with such job postings declining globally.

Frankly, the labor market’s rebound has been superlative — especially considering the economic condition most of us are in, with soaring inflation and a looming recession. Not only are layoffs creeping up, companies’ job postings have been falling sharply too. The reality is that a robust job market that has defied expectations for years, has started showing more concrete signs of slowing.

“This year we are seeing a slower pace of growth, as the economy comes back down to earth after a meteoric rise last year in one of the fastest recoveries we have ever seen,” LinkedIn Chief Economist Karin Kimbrough said in the Global Talent Trends report. Nevertheless, she reckons labor-market dynamics remain tight. 

“So, in many ways, employees still hold the power to demand more from their employers when it comes to salary, flexibility, and benefits. But this power balance is likely to start leveling out in the coming months,” Kimbrough suggested. She also noted that amid this uncertain backdrop, LinkedIn anticipates further deceleration in hiring from the historical highs seen last year.

The report also highlighted that remote roles are in decline, although the applications to those roles outstrip supply. As of September 2022, in Singapore – as well as other Asia Pacific countries of Australia and India in LinkedIn’s study – remote roles receive more applications compared to the remote jobs that are available. 

While only 5.2% of jobs are remote in Singapore, they’re receiving 7.8% of applications. LinkedIn also believes that during this period of economic uncertainty, the flexibility and freedoms introduced during the pandemic that employees benefited from are now at risk. In fact,  8 in 10 Singapore business leaders say the current climate could threaten flexible work (83%).

“We can’t go back. Companies that pull back on flexible working, learning, and development risk demotivating their workforce and pushing people to competitors that offer more attractive options,” LinkedIn’s APAC managing director Feon Ang said in a statement. Unfortunately, the C-suite research discovered that over a third of business leaders are looking to reduce employee learning and development budgets and opportunities, as well as flexible and hybrid working roles. 

In addition, half (51%) of business leaders in Singapore prefer employees to work more frequently from the office, as opposed to working from home. In spite of this, 77% felt that hybrid working is here to stay for the longer term. Essentially, from LinkedIn’s C-level research and jobs data, it highlights a growing disconnect between what professionals want and what employers are now offering, with the balance of power shifting back to employers as hiring in Singapore and all around the world slows.  

Ultimately, if Big Tech is off any indicator, Mark Zuckerberg’s statement on restructuring priorities for future business goals, or Google’s email professing “Scarcity breeds clarity” makes one thing clear — tech moguls are resorting to hiring freezes to brace for economic uncertainty. As the report ‘A Closer Look at a Hot Labor Market’ concluded, we will see job openings decline more rapidly than hires, as the labor market cools.

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