-
Source: ONE News
Global recruitment firm Robert Walters says there is a significant increase in the number of New Zealand expats returning from the UK, according to its latest global salary survey.
Robert Walters New Zealand's managing director Richard Manthel says traditionally it has been the birth of a first child, or children reaching school age, that tended to bring people back home.
But now there are new factors.
"In the last six months we've seen an upturn in the number of people coming back for reasons that are quite new to us, and that is that they're losing their jobs in the UK, they've lost confidence in the UK economy, but also their contracts haven't been extended," he says.
The firm's survey also found that while some employers have recruitment freezes and redundancy programmes in place, salaries in general are holding steady despite the credit crunch.
Nevertheless, the agency says the environment has changed. Manthel says salaries, particularly in the last five months, have stalled as companies are not expanding and there is general contraction in jobs available.
"A number of factors have combined to keep salary levels relatively steady, although we can safely say that the double digit increases that had become commonplace in previous years are now a thing of the past," says Manthel.
With expats returning to New Zealand, redundancies, and a shift of people out of the finance sector, employers now have a far greater talent pool of workers to choose from.
But despite the influx of job candidates in the market, Robert Walters reports that employers, many of whom face an uncertain future, are adopting a more cautious approach to recruitment and are taking longer to hire.
Globally, the uncertain outlook and recruitment freezes have seen employers choose in favour of temporary staff, boosting the demand for contractors.
However, Manthel warns that while the talent pool may be richer, employers should aim to secure candidates quickly.
"We would encourage organisations to operate swift and fluid processes to attract the right candidate as top tier talent is still in demand," he says.
Manthel also says that job candidates will also need to remain flexible, both in terms of salary expectations and the roles they consider.
