Employment: Optimism for (re)job searches reigns despite company caution

Will these two visions begin to collide? It’s possible, although it’s too early to say. In an exclusive online survey conducted by LinkedIn news in collaboration with Le Parisien Today in France, Internet users show that they have great confidence in the labor market. To the question: “When do you think you will find a job?” ” (for people doing the research), the answer is: less than three months for 35% of respondents, three to six months for 30% and more than six months for 35%.

“Thinking about a new job in the next six months shows real optimism,” says Tiffany Blandin, a data reporter at LinkedIn news who conducted the pilot study.

90% say they would be willing to leave their job if the opportunity arises.

“These are hyper-balanced answers,” says Vincent Binétrou, director of the French Institute of Top Employers. To me this shows that people are a bit helpless and don’t know what tomorrow will bring them. Moreover, by regularly communicating with HR managers, I feel growing excitement about the economic situation in 2024.”

However, for the second question: “Would you be willing to leave your job if the opportunity presented itself? “Given the current context, we once again sense unshakable confidence among LinkedIn members. 40% answered “yes” without hesitation, 50% said “yes” after careful consideration, and only 10% said “no.” “Overall rate of 90 % for the first two is huge and shows that despite the economic and international situation, our members still have confidence in their chances, even if we expect the employment situation to change in the coming months after very strong growth over the past two years “, continues Tiffany Blandin. .

“This is positive and even encouraging,” analyzes Vincent Binetrou. The responses clearly demonstrate that employees trust French companies. Let them consider themselves capable of surviving this difficult period, of overcoming this zone of turbulence. Now I’m wondering. We notice, especially among young people, especially those leaving school, that they have not yet realized that the power relationship between the candidate and the recruiter is changing. They were taught, or are still being taught, the fact that they have the right to choose and make decisions. But things are changing, and school discourse has not yet integrated this. »

So it looks like we’re entering a phase where we’re really at a crossroads. Moreover, according to the latest report from the European Commission, growth will be about +0.6% in Europe in 2023 and +1.2% in 2024. On the one hand, there is always real optimism in various opportunities to find a job, change jobs, or even impose your own conditions, and on the other hand, on the part of the recruiter and the HR department, there is a desire to move forward in the future. , step by step, while being very careful.

Professions are still in suspense

The latest unemployment data confirms this wait-and-see hypothesis. “In the third quarter of 2023, the number of unemployed people, as defined by the International Labor Office, will increase by 64 thousand people compared to the previous quarter, to 2.3 million people. The unemployment rate thus increases by 0.2 points, to 7.4% of the active population of France (excluding Mayotte). Over the year, it increases by 0.2 points and returns to the level of the second quarter of 2022,” INSEE wrote in its publication last week.

“This variant is a wavelet. We should not pay attention to this and not create a situation of mistrust, for which there is no reason to exist, says the director of the Institute of Best Employers. If we were at +0.5%, I would say, “OK, be careful.” It’s true that in 2024 everything will change. Those who have hired a lot of employees in recent years will wait a little longer. Nobody wants to implement the restructuring plans that Alstom, for example, just announced. But above all, professions that are under pressure today will remain under stress tomorrow. We will continue to hire web developers and data analysts in large numbers… That won’t change. »

Crafts and technology jobs, opportunities for the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics, healthcare, cybersecurity and even hospitality and catering are still hiring in droves. Great opportunities to find a new job.

The survey was conducted among people registered on LinkedIn from November 7 for the first question (4,133 voters) and from November 10 for the second (9,065 voters) until November 16.