Bosses in the north fear that rising employer costs, as well as increasing demands to return to the office, are exacerbating worker dissatisfaction, which could trigger another wave of resignations in 2025.
The latest job report from NIJobs, authored by top economist Richard Ramsey, shows that job listings in the north are higher than this time last year, with top-performing sectors recruiting regularly.
It also reveals that the proportion of job listings specifying fully remote work is 31% lower than the same period last year, although ‘hybrid working’ is holding steady.
But as major global companies such as Amazon, AT&T, and JP Morgan have all recently declared remote working obsolete for their employees, the report says similar trends are emerging in Northern Ireland, with local employers encouraging staff to spend more time in the office.
And that is forcing more workers to reassess their position with their current companies and consider walking away.
Richard says: “Whilst many people are grappling with what Trump 2.0 will mean for economies, sectors, and businesses, some quarters within the recruitment world are suggesting we could see a sequel to ‘The Great Resignation’.
“Triggers of this include return-to-work orders following the pandemic-induced rollout of working from home.”
He adds: “Talk of a Great Resignation in 2025 presents a major challenge for employers to retain existing talent, let alone recruit new staff.
“Employers and employees are now under more cost pressures. Cost pressures for employees rather than a desire for a career/lifestyle change have increasingly come to the fore.
“The change in the economic environment could also see employers become more cost-conscious and less willing or able to continue with certain benefits and above-inflation pay rises.
“According to the Wall Street Journal, Netflix has reportedly been ‘walking back’ its policy on unlimited time off for new parents. Housing costs, in particular, could force employees to look elsewhere to get a meaningful pay rise.
“We will be increasingly exposed to Donald Trump’s three-word slogans. In the recruitment world, it remains to be seen whether The Great Resignation 2.0 materialises or we see, as Trump might say, ‘Churn, Baby, Churn’.”
During the last three months of 2024, the number of job openings listed on the NIJobs hiring platform fell by 11%, the first decline in a year, but vacancies were up 4% year-on-year and 39% above the corresponding quarter in 2019
Three quarters of the 39 employment categories posted more vacancies in the latest quarter than in the corresponding period in 2019. Retail, skilled trades & logistics recorded the biggest net gains followed by cleaning, construction, management & social care. Construction had twice as many job vacancies in quarter four of 2024 than it did five years earlier.
