Slight decline in executive recruitment intentions

The hunt for candidates continues: 84% of employers anticipate difficulties recruiting executives in the third quarter, a record level, but what is new is that recruitment intentions are down slightly. Only 10% of companies plan to recruit at least one executive in the third quarter, compared to 13% in the second quarter, according to the latest quarterly barometer of the Association for Executive Employment (APEC) published on Monday 29 August.

In a still uncertain context (war in Ukraine, high inflation, supply difficulties, etc.), intentions to hire managers have returned to their level of September 2020. Could this be a sign of a slowdown in the labor market?

This decline is part of a broader perspective: the economist Denis Ferrand, managing director of Rexecode, notes that as of July the statistics department of the ministry of labor indicated a first increase for eighteen months in the number of job seekers (category A, B and C). “We must not draw too hasty conclusions from a somewhat isolated indication, is of the opinion Denis Ferrand. However, many elements contribute to a sharp decline in activity.. Leading labor market indicator, the interim recorded a deceleration in recent months. A trend that affects all categories of employees, including executives.

But “this slight dip in executive hiring intentions does not prevent recruitment tensions from reaching a record level this quarter”, underlines Gilles Gateau, Director General of APEC. Job vacancies exceed pre-Covid levels: +30% vacancies on the APEC website in July 2022 compared to July 2019.

For executives surveyed in August 2022, changing companies is still seen as an opportunity rather than a risk (52%), despite concerns about the international situation. 22% of executives say they are concerned about the health of their company and 66% worried about the country’s economic situation. 34% want to change company within twelve months. Due to the extreme volatility of their sector in recent months, executives in the construction and trade sectors are the most inclined to move. But the recruitment bottleneck seems to be narrowing.