2023 brought new records to the labor market in terms of candidates' willingness to access new professional opportunities, and the trend is expected to continue this year. Over 12.5 million applications were registered on the bestjobs online recruitment platform last year, 45% more than in 2022.

Moreover, the number of new candidates registered on the platform also exceeded expectations, with almost 700,000 new CVs added to bestjobs in the last year.

"The economic context of 2023 has massively mobilized candidates as they seek better paying opportunities that allow them to live comfortably. The trend will continue in 2024, and companies will be increasingly selective in recruitment, based on the need for specialists and within the limits of available budgets," said Ana Vișian, marketing manager at bestjobs.

Industries such as Engineering, IT&C and Construction continued to face a shortage of specialists last year, forcing companies to find other solutions, either by in-house training of employees or by increasing recruitment budgets. Thus, according to bestjobs specialists, attracting candidates with job-specific skills seems to be a priority for companies in 2024.

On the candidates' side, flexibility in schedule and work has become increasingly important over the past year. Six out of ten employees said in a recent bestjobs survey that this is an essential criterion in choosing a new job.

At the same time, bestjobs specialists note a greater interest on the part of candidates to take on an additional job, part-time or project-based, to supplement their income.

According to the same source, artificial Intelligence is also expected to become an increasingly important tool in the labor market in 2024. bestjobs data shows that the automation of recruitment processes and the creation of intelligent tools will be a valuable support for both employees and employers, facilitating the finding of the necessary staff in a short period, with minimal expenses.

Pay transparency has also become increasingly popular among employers in Romania. If at the end of 2022, roughly 22% of job ads published on bestjobs mentioned the salary or a pay range, in 2023, their percentage neared 40%.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

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