Recruitment Experiences and Outlook Survey

 

The National Skills Commission surveys approximately 1,200 employers each month to find out about their experience when recruiting staff as well as whether they are expecting to increase staffing levels. This feedback provides insights about labour market conditions and to develop resources designed to help job seekers understand what employers are looking for.

The Recruitment Experiences and Outlook Survey (REOS) is one of a number of sources of labour market information available, including the Internet Vacancy Index (IVI), Small Area Labour Markets (SALM), the Employment Region Dashboards and Profiles the Nowcast of Employment by Region and Occupation (NERO), and Five-Year Employment Projections.

Key indicators - August 2022

Recruitment activity

Recruitment activity varies by location and industry and reflects other factors which may be having an impact on the economy, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

In August 2022:

• 56% of employers were recruiting, which was 3 percentage points lower than last month, but 18 percentage points higher than in August last year (when lockdowns affected much of the country).
• The recruitment rate decreased by 3 percentage points to 54% in Capital Cities, while in Rest of State areas the rate decreased by 4 percentage points to 58%. 

Source: National Skills Commission, Recruitment Experiences and Outlook Survey, August 2022

Recruitment difficulty

In August 2022, the recruitment difficulty rate eased by 1 percentage point to 74% of recruiting employers (representing 41% of all employers). This is the second-highest recruitment difficulty rate recorded for this series.

• The recruitment difficulty rate increased by 1 percentage point in Capital Cities to 75% of recruiting employers, while in Rest of State areas recruitment difficulty fell by 6 percentage points to 71%.

Proportion of recruiting employers with recruitment difficulty, by region type

Source: National Skills Commission, Recruitment Experiences and Outlook Survey, August 2022

Staffing outlook

Employers are asked how they expect their staffing levels to change over the next 3 months. In August 2022:

• 31% of employers expected to increase staffing levels over the next three months, 6 percentage points more than in July 2022. 
• 3% of employers expected to decrease their staffing levels over the next three months.

Expectations to increase staff by region type, as a proportion of all employers

Source: National Skills Commission, Recruitment Experiences and Outlook Survey, August 2022

Reports

Recruitment Insights Report – monthly

The Recruitment Insights Report highlights key findings and trends in recruitment activity, recruitment difficulty and future staffing expectations. Each report is accompanied by an excel datafile containing time series data for each key indicator. Most reports also features a 'Spotlight' section which explores a particular topic.

The Spotlight for the July 2022 report is on retention difficulty in 2021 and 2022 to date.

 The Spotlight for the June 2022 report is on the recruitment methods used by employers in 2021 and how they have changed since 2020.

The Spotlight for May 2022 explores how the time taken to fill vacancies varies by the occupation recruited for, and how this has changed since before the onset of COVID-19.

The Spotlight for the April 2022 report is on recruitment difficulty for truck drivers. 

The Spotlight for the March 2022 report is on the job status of employers' recent hires.

February 2022's Spotlight is on measuring recruitment difficulty.

The Spotlight for the January 2022 report is on employers' reason for recruitment (turnover vs new positions).

The Spotlight for the December 2021 report is on employers with retention difficulty.

The Spotlight for the November 2021 report is on impacts of recruitment difficulty.

The Spotlight for the October 2021 report is on recruitment difficulty for Hospitality Workers.

The Spotlight for the September 2021 report is on employers’ single greatest future concern.

The Spotlight for the August 2021 report is on employers with staff stood down, on reduced hours, or working from home.

The Spotlight for the July 2021 report features preliminary results on employers with retention difficulty. 

The Spotlight for the June 2021 report is on recruitment experiences and expectations within the Accommodation and Food Services industry.

The Spotlight for the May 2021 report is on recruitment experiences and expectations within the Health Care and Social Assistance industry.

The Spotlight for the April 2021 report is on recruitment methods used by employers.

The Spotlight for the March 2021 report is on risks to businesses staying open.

The Spotlight for the February 2021 report is on the impact of COVID-19 on businesses and changes to staffing levels throughout 2020.

Annual overview

Information collected from employers throughout 2020 is presented in the report: Employers' Insights on the Australian Labour Market - 2020 Data Report.

As the year progressed and the number of lockdowns reduced, businesses were less impacted by COVID-19.

As businesses became more confident the recruitment rate began to pick up around Australia.

The use of internet and social media as recruitment methods has increased in recent times. This trend accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methodology

The National Skills Commission (NSC) conducts the Recruitment Experiences and Outlook Survey (REOS) to monitor recruitment activity and conditions across Australia.

The REOS surveys employers across Australia, and up to 14,000 businesses respond to the survey throughout the year.

The survey collects information on employer recruitment activity, recruitment difficulty and staffing outlook – all important indicators to help policy makers and analysts to monitor and understand current and emerging labour market conditions. Data are released as close to collection as possible, providing an almost real-time view of recruitment activity across Australia.

The REOS questionnaire continually evolves to stay current with changes in the Australian labour market that directly impact on businesses and their recruitment.

For more information on the survey methodology, key concepts used in the survey and to view the questionnaire, see the paper:

 

Contact Details

For information on the REOS survey email RecruitmentSurveys@skillscommission.gov.au or telephone 1800 059 439.

For information on the Recruitment Insight Reports email RecruitmentAnalysis@skillscommission.gov.au

Related links