The interest of job seekers and those looking to change careers has grown this year compared to the previous one, with a recorded 10 million job applications from January to date, approximately 5% more than in 2022. The efforts invested by candidates have remained consistent throughout the year, even during the summer months and the year-end period when the application process generally experiences a slower pace.
“Unlike last year, when the market was more focused on candidates, this year candidates closely observed the market. Not only did those with existing platform accounts submit more applications, but we also witnessed an almost 10% increase in the number of new candidates. It is highly likely that we will see a similar phenomenon next year, as our latest survey reveals that 56% of respondents plan to change jobs in 2024,” says Roxana Drăghici, Head of Sales at eJobs Romania.
With 3.8 million applications, candidates in the 25-35 age group were the most active in job searches. Young individuals aged 18 to 24 accumulated nearly 3 million applications, while those in the 36-45 age category submitted 1.9 million. Candidates aged over 45 remain relatively reserved and show the highest level of reluctance when it comes to changing jobs, with 1.1 million applications recorded. Less than 100,000 applications belong to those aged 18 and under.
“For the first three categories, we observe not only an increase in the number of new candidates and reactivated candidates after a calmer 2022 but also a higher number of applications per candidate. Most focus on entry-level jobs that require a maximum of two years of experience, closely followed by mid-level positions (2-5 years of experience). In 2023, the job market was dominated by positions in the entry and mid-level categories. However, there were relatively few movements in the management sector. Candidates in managerial roles were the most stable and challenging to convince to make a career change, with just over 800,000 applications recorded for announcements seeking managers,” explains Roxana Drăghici.
The industries that attracted the most applications were retail (3.1 million), services (1.3 million), call-center/BPO (1.3 million), IT/telecom (1.1 million), and financial-banking (1 million). On the other hand, industries that garnered the least interest from candidates were real estate, textile industry, education/training, pharmaceuticals, insurance, and arts/entertainment.
Another noteworthy aspect for this year was the record level of applications for remote jobs. 14.4% of the total applications went to remote positions, totaling 1.5 million applications compared to 1.2 million in 2022. “A record was also set for jobs abroad, but in this case, we are talking about the lowest number of applications in recent years—almost 160,000,” adds Roxana Drăghici.