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With 2022 behind us, we’re thinking ahead about what 2023 may bring. Here’s some of our predictions for the job market for the next 12 months.

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1. The economy will slow, and labour shortages will persist

This is a really interesting one. As Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, cost of living spikes, inflation remains high and interest rates are increased to try and counter that inflation, the economy will inevitably slow. The majority of economists expect the US and a lot of the world to enter recession next year. Will Australia follow?

Possibly... The reality is, 2022 saw job vacancies at record highs and unemployment at the lowest it’s been since 1974. While the economy may slow and some industries will see redundancies, the sheer lack of available talent will see strong employment opportunities for 2023, particularly in the built and natural environment. Increasing immigration of skilled migrants will do little to ease the pressure, but there will still be an ongoing skills shortage, with unemployment only expected to increase moderately in 2023.

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2. Flexible work is here to stay, but expect there to be more consistency

Any company (where the role doesn't necessitate the employee to be onsite, e.g. a site manager), that tries to bring their staff back into the office five days a week, is mad. Flexible work has gone from a perk to an expectation. However, there’s likely to be a rebalance and more consistency around what that flexibility looks like. We anticipate three days in the office to be the average, which is backed up in the results from our 2022 PACE Survey.

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3. Side hustles are here to stay

COVID lockdowns (reduced hours, redundancies etc.), saw a lot of people have more time to commercialise a passion, and develop a side hustle. A lot of these received traction and are likely here to stay. Expect that more people will run a side business, and possibly look for part time work to support this.

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4. Longer contract placements in local government

The candidate shortage has led to councils realising that when they come across a great candidate, it’s better to snap them up and secure them for a longer contract than previously done. It’s predicted that this may continue to secure great talent for local government.

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5. Four-day work week

More and more companies around the world, and in Australia, are trialling a four-day work week. Many are experiencing its success which include increased productivity and happier staff.

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6. Regional Boom

Ballarat, Bendigo and Gippsland, to name a few, are going to boom with work opportunities in construction. If you’re open to re-location or a daily commute, 2023 might be the time for a country change.

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The last few years have definitely been interesting, and there’s nothing to say that this year will be anything different. We’re ready for whatever 2023 brings!