In Q3 2023, the global job market witnessed a significant 29.3% year-on-year decline in job postings, which led to numerous companies announcing layoffs. Notable players such as Citigroup Inc, Cisco Systems Inc, General Motors Co, Nestle SA, FedEx Corp, Accenture Plc, and Wells Fargo & Co were among those who implemented job cuts. Despite this challenging scenario, certain sectors, including healthcare, retail, and food services, saw an increase in their share of global job postings year-over-year.
According to the Job Analytics Database from analytics firm GlobalData, the hiring landscape in Q3 2023 was characterized by key technology themes, namely big data, cloud, and artificial intelligence (AI). These themes emerged as driving forces in the job market, even as overall hiring activity continued to decline by 29.3% year-over-year and 11% quarter-over-quarter, according to GlobalData's latest report, "Global Hiring Activity Trends & Signals - Q3 2023."
The United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, India, and Canada led the way in terms of job postings during this period. The year-over-year share of global job postings showed improvement for the United Kingdom, Australia, and Germany.
Sherla Sriprada, Business Fundamentals Analyst at GlobalData, notes that the industries with the most job postings included retail, healthcare, and technology and communications. Despite the overall decline, the travel and tourism sector remained resilient, albeit with conservative hiring practices. Notable recruiters in this challenging environment included Tesla, Marriott International, and IBM.
In addition to big data, cloud, and AI, other notable topics with high job postings included social media, metaverse, and batteries. Industries such as contactless retail and autonomous vehicles emerged as leaders in job postings.
Finally, Sriprada highlights the increasing demand for specific technical skills during the quarter. Job postings seeking skills related to Enterprise Social Networking and Collaboration Platforms saw an improvement over the previous year. In addition, technical skills in product lifecycle management applications, colocation services, vertical-specific and packaged applications, and customer relationship management applications experienced a surge in job postings, reflecting the evolving demands of the job market.
