Who says return of confidence also says return of hiring! After many gloomy months stained with uncertainties, the horizon finally seems to emerge on the executive market, as recruitment intentions are on the rise for the end of the year. According to the latest barometer of the association for the employment of executives (APEC), 12% of companies plan to hire one or more executives in the third quarter, which represents an increase of 1 point compared to March 2021 and 2 points compared to September 2020. A positive dynamic which confirms the trend of the second quarter, since between May and June 14% of companies hired at least one executive. Another very encouraging signal is that job vacancies returned to a positive trend in June, which did nothad not arrived since… June 2019. Optimism is therefore in order for this summer and this return even if the health situation remains uncertain due to the threat of a fourth epidemic wave.
“After long months without visibility, companies, including very small and medium-sized businesses, are showing renewed confidence.
This translates into an increase in hiring in the second quarter, which should last until the end of the year,
”said Gilles Gateau, the director general of APEC.
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In detail, this wind of optimism is notably driven by high value-added services which show 21% of hiring intentions, i.e. 4 points more from one quarter to the next, and construction, with 12 %, also up 4 points. In addition, corporate morale is also much better than before. And for good reason, 54% of employers say they are now able to anticipate their activity against 46% in the previous quarter and a very large majority show confidence in the evolution of their order book, or 78% against 65%. However, even if the general dynamic is positive, it does not mean that it can reverse the trend and the forecasts made at the start of the year. For 2021, the joint association expects 247,000 recruitments,or 12% less than before the Covid crisis in 2019. Moreover, even if unemployment has increased over the past fifteen months, the tensions on the labor market have not disappeared. Far from it ... and this phenomenon does not spare executives. Proof of this is that in the 3rd quarter, nearly 8 out of 10 companies which plan to recruit, thus anticipate difficulties in finding the executive skills they are looking for.
“Understanding how these difficulties will be reorganized is a major issue for Apec, which makes companies aware of their ability to diversify profiles and adjust their recruitment criteria
,” explains Gilles Gateau.
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On the managerial side, the crisis has greatly reduced the possibility of mobility. In 2020, only 6% of executives had changed company, “
the lowest rate since 2015,
” says Apec. However, the desire for movement has not been annihilated by the Covid. And for good reason, in June 2021, the prospects for change regain their appeal, with 20% of executives under the age of 35 who are considering external mobility within three months. Concretely, the prospect of changing companies "
becomes attractive again
", underlines Apec. In the second quarter, half of the executives (51%) saw in a change of company “
an opportunity rather than a risk
”, when they were only 45% to share this opinion in the first quarter."
It's a real moment of change
, ”says Gilles Gateau. However, six out of ten executives (58%) consider that it would be "
difficult
" for them to find "
an equivalent job
". And 23% "
continue to feel threatened by the risk of dismissal
", a fear that concerns 34% of those under 35.
