HR Job Opportunities: February 2022

The HR job market is smoking hot and will remain aflame for much of 2022. Given such scorching conditions, Human Resources professionals will be difficult to attract and retain in the year ahead.

As organisations seek solutions to chronic talent shortages, significant demands will be placed on HR teams. Talent attraction, retention and remuneration will enjoy a high profile and be under pressure for much of the year. L&D specialists are also needed to enhance existing workforce capabilities.

To learn about HR job market trends download the resources below or keep reading for more information.

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Talent shortages keep Human Resources in demand

Job ads on SEEK set a record high in January 2022 and are up 39.6% year-on-year (and 36.6% compared to 2-years ago). Alongside this increased demand, SEEK has reported drastically low levels of job applications. Response rates per job ad are now 50% lower than 2019 levels*. 

Whilst borders start to reopen, visa applications are now taking 3-times longer than prior to the pandemic. The trickle of international workers means relief is still a way off for sectors such as technology, health and consulting/professional services. 



Human Resources (and particularly talent attraction, retention and remuneration) will be high profile and under pressure in many sectors/organisations. Therefore, the HR market is expected to stay busy through 2022 as organisations look for solutions to chronic shortages of talent. 

HR Job Opportunities in Australia

Over the past year there has been strong demand for Human Resources professionals. Demand rose steadily in the first six months before subsiding during lockdowns in Q3. The HR job market then took-off again in October and November. 

The Next Step's National HR Job Opportunities Index achieved a record high level of 151.2 in November 2021. The rise was driven predominantly by permanent opportunities, demonstrating business confidence during this time. 

The HR job market softened in December due, in-part, to the usual holiday season slow-down as well as the impact of Omicron. January rebounded (even with the Omicron hangover) and finished on an index level of 128.2, once again being pushed by a surge in permanent opportunities. 

It’s reasonable to expect that the Human Resources job market will be pushed even higher in the months ahead. Keep an eye out for record levels of opportunities as organisations continue to grapple with the prospect of continued talent and skill shortages. Reported high levels of ‘role changing’ are exacerbating these shortages. 

Where demand exceeds supply, prices go up. Labour rates are expected to increase across the board and organisations will need to respond, including within the Human Resources sector. 

Human Resources Job Opportunities by Region

Over the last twelve months the State HR Job Index has seen some notable increases in market growth. 

Victoria has bragging rights having experienced the highest year-on-year growth (15.9%). Following the world’s longest lockdown, there was a massive bounce back once restrictions were eased. Victoria now makes up a quarter of all opportunities in HR, comprising 25.5% of the national market. 

The states with the smaller Human Resources markets all grew through 2021. Queensland finished on 16.6% and Western Australia on 13.5%. These strong results were due to a number of factors including:

• Post lockdown bounce-backs
• Limited movement across state and territory borders
• New needs for some local markets to attract HR talent 
• Increased openness for roles to be located anywhere nationally
• 
  

New South Wales, has the largest proportion of national HR opportunities (30.2%), down slightly when compared to January 2021. This minor drop can probably be attributed to Omicron disruptions. 

Hopefully as we learn to live with COVID, business confidence will increase and will be able to maintain a strong employment market throughout 2022. 



HR Job Opportunities by Industry

The net decrease in HR job opportunities within Financial Services is highlighted by the relatively small percentage of opportunities in the sector - only 3.4% of the market. This former powerhouse of the Human Resources market has been on a steady decline since early 2021. Productivity measures and an overarching focus on compliance, risk and governance is delivering leaner centralised models with less head count deployed in business units. 

On the flip side, opportunities for HR professional in the Mining, Construction and Utilities sectors went from strength to strength in 2021. Demand continued unabated in January 2022 when opportunities within the sector hit an all-time high. Many HR jobs in the mining sector are based in QLD and WA. These sectors often have a requirement for site-based locations and/or visits and so virtual working isn’t always a viable option. This has further challenged resourcing these roles. 

The only other sectors to exceed the national norm for year-on-year growth were Public Administration (up 8.4%) and Healthcare (up 13.5%). The public sector increased opportunities in HR during the pandemic at both State and Federal levels. Also, many areas of the Healthcare sector have seen their business demands expand during the pandemic. HR job opportunities in Healthcare were already at a high level in early 2021 and we are confident growth will continue this year.



Human Resources Job Opportunities by Job Title

Skills and talent shortages have contributed to an increased need for a range of HR capabilities. Talent Acquisition is the obvious discipline to “benefit” from these challenges. Job opportunities ballooned in the first half of 2021. Whilst they slipped back during lockdowns in Q3 as hiring slowed, they overall made up 35% of all opportunities in HR. 

2021 was a good year for HR Generalists / Consultants. Job opportunities rose 34.6% in the last twelve months. This category represents a wide range of HR professionals, arguably the backbone of the profession. The pandemic has generated a range of challenges. Smaller businesses that may not previously have had a HR function may have seen the need to build some capability. Those with an established HR function may have found it stretched and therefore a need to further enhance capability.

Both the L&D and Reward specialisations saw impressive results. L&D rose 8.6% year on year whilst Reward rose 7.3%. Both are expected to perform strongly again in 2022. 

A number of Human Resources positions featured prominently in LinkedIn’s list of fastest growing roles within Australia^, taking out three of the top fifteeen spots. Chief Human Resources Officer was LinkedIn's fastest growing role in the nation. Other HR jobs on the rise included Talent Acquisition Specialist, which took 6th spot and Workforce Specialist, which came-in at number 13 on the list of fastest growing jobs.

* SEEK Employment Dashboard – January 2022   ^ 2022 LinkedIn 'Jobs on the Rise' list

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