L&D jobs market barometer: Fair/Moderate
A 13% decrease in new L&D job vacancies has resulted in a 'Moderate' market index for Q2, down from 'Good' in Q1.
The current market for new vacancies within L&D is ‘Moderate’, according to Blue Eskimo's L&D Barometer for Q2 2023. Wider macroeconomic conditions, specifically interest rate rises affecting investment decisions and the drive to manage costs, has started to adversely affect demand.
Interest rate rises have put additional pressure on businesses and we are seeing a reassessment of finances. Businesses are prioritising the projects they need to spend on now, and assessing which can wait or scale at a slower pace. The pandemic forced a boom in investment in digital which benefitted L&D greatly, but was sometimes to the detriment of other areas. Many of these fast-tracked digital projects are now finished or coming to a close.
The effect on prospective candidates is also being felt, as many of those in employment value stability over the risk of taking on a new role at this point in time. This combined with a reduction in new digital and other transformation projects that require skilled professionals, means that demand in 2023 so far remains muted.
13% decrease in new vacancies
- There was a 13% decrease in new vacancies made up of small decreases across all L&D roles with the exception of Learning Design and Development roles which increased by 20% following large falls earlier in the year.
- June saw the biggest single month-on-month fall in vacancies, down 7% compared to March, attributed in part to the seasonal slowdown approaching the summer period.
- The marked increase in L&D redundancies in Q1 has now levelled off in Q2.
Nick Bate, Blue Eskimo, points out: “Vacancy volumes remain significantly lower than throughout 2022. However, this reduction also reflects a balancing in the jobs market following the surge in new jobs created in 2022, in which we saw record highs in L&D recruitment. When we compare this quarter to previous quarters during the pandemic the slowdown can appear stark, but what we are actually seeing is a readjustment to business as normal.”
The Blue Eskimo L&D Barometer for Q2 2023 is freely available to download.