Analytics, Estonia, Labour-market

Employers' recruitment efforts remain active and the need for additional staff shows no signs of abating. Nearly half or 49% of employees have been encouraged via different channels to apply for new positions, it appears from the results of the survey.

Invitations to apply for a position are most often aimed at chief executives and top specialists. The results of a survey conducted among employers in the fall of 2018, too, indicated an increasing need for work force -- 70% of employers intended to recruit new employees over the following six months, and 39% of the organizations surveyed planned to create new jobs.

Even though worker mobility on the labor market remains very active, preparedness to change jobs has somewhat decreased -- when a year ago just 19% were disinterested in job offers, then now the share is 26%. Increase in basic salaries has most likely contributed to employee loyalty.

The results of the survey indicate an increase in both basic salaries as well as in the share of additional remuneration. This trend puts employers in an even more difficult situation -- retaining staff and recruiting new employees is getting increasingly more expensive. Over more than half of the employers surveyed in the fall said that the labor market situation and the shortage of work force are the biggest contributors to their decisions when it comes to reassessing salary levels.

"Finding a good job should be easier than ever at the moment," Henry Auvaart, chief of communications at CV Keskus Baltics, said. "The number of job offers remains high and if there is something one does not like about their current job, it takes a couple of minutes on a smart phone to apply for a new one. The number of visits on the recruitment portal CVkeskus.ee is highest on working hours -- it seems that the final decision to put in for a better job is made at work."

"The increasing competition pushes employers towards a more carefully considered recruitment process. When drafting a job offer, it pays to make sure that all required key words have been listed. A job offer should definitely include a remuneration bracket, as a recent survey indicated that insufficient information regarding the salary was one of the main reasons why people discard an invite to a job interview," Auvaart said. "Key words indicating flexibility such as flexible working hours and the option of occasionally working from home also increase applicants' interest."