Employment Market Shake-up.
November 10, 2008 by Geoff Jennings
I’m an optimist. Can’t help it. It’s part of my make-up. I don’t hold a high regard on always being happy, though. I reckon you need bad times to challenge your strength, just like the immune system needs the odd germ to strengthen it.
There is a fair amount of talk at present about the state of global financial health. Most of it’s pretty dire. As a result, companies are getting nervous about their economic well-being. Staff are lying low and getting on with the job. There are lots of stats, not facts. I’m going to regurgitate a few, and would ask that you decide of your own reading of them. I’ll give you my opinion at the end. But as I warned you…I’m an optimist:
According to Seek.com.au the Australian employment market has eased further in October.
Despite much speculation however, there were no signs of an abrupt response to the deepening global financial crisis that might signify a developing recession.
Nationally the SEEK Employment Index (SEI), which measures the ratio of new job ads on seek.com.au to job applications via the site, fell by 4% in seasonally adjusted terms, suggesting jobseekers may have witnessed increased competition for fewer available jobs.
However, despite the global financial crisis deepening, this rate was consistent with the average rate of decline seen since December 2007 (4.5%).
However, Seek Ltd themselves have downgraded their forecast for profit growth to zero. Net profit after tax, which last year saw a 37.4% rise to $76.3 million, is now forecast to be flat.
News Corp has flagged job cuts, after reporting a 29.6 per cent drop in first quarter profit and it’s likely that Fairfax is also felling the pinch…
So what does this all mean for the online recruitment market. Here’s what I reckon…Seek will have to make some changes they might not otherwise have considered. Strategies must change, even if a little. Will this open up opportunities for niche job boards to gain a foothold in the market? Possibly. And if this happens, what a great opportunity is a recession (no Keating comparisons, please).
Point is, sometimes nothing beats a good old dose of the flu.
Not sure where you read about that $762 million profit figure - seems its inflated to the tune of several hundred percent above last year’s revenue!
Hi Carey
Yes, my mistake. Have adjusted including the decimal point.
Slowing down on the overseas purchases might help the bottom line.
Cheers
Geoff
davidand from the old blog site made this comment:
There are parallels here with the US (and local) car industry, as well as the Australian iron ore industry. When times are good, you can foist any old piece of crap (SUV anyone?) or charge as many $$$ per tonne, and those suckers will just keep buyin’! But when the tables turn, watch out! Consumers have long memories and don’t take kindly to being used. Seek’s good-time price-gouging (I mean, just how much have data storage costs increased in recent years??) didn’t go down well with the recruitment industry, and I’m sure that they’ll soon be voting with their direct debits and their keyboards, now that the power shift is heading in their direction.
Niche jobsboards and aggregators (who Seek dismissed as “not a threat” a year or so ago) are about to have their time in the sun.
I agree Davidand.
In three months time when my contract expires that’s it for me with them. I am sick of being treated like a $ sign and not a loyal advertiser.
I recently asked for them to help me out and they responded with NO. Nice…
Vote with your direct debits recruiters.