July Market Update

NSW Accountancy & Finance

We launched the 2025/25 Hays Salary Guide in June and it was our biggest yet, with 15,170 responses across Australia and New Zealand. ?Within the Accounting & Finance industry we reported that the top 5 jobs employers need to fill are: Payroll Officer, External Auditor, Business Services Accountant, Finance Business Partner and Financial Accountant.? We also found that 69% of employees are open to, or actively looking for new job opportunities – and the reason?? Primarily monetary – both rising cost of?living as well as uncompetitive salaries.? The other was lack of promotional opportunities.? For more in-depth information, download the guide here: https://www.hays.com.au/salary-guide or speak to a consultant.

For those looking for work:

We have seen a slight increase in job opportunities, particularly for Accounts Clerks, Assistant Accountants, Financial Accountants and more recently, SME Finance Managers.? The market cooled slightly in the final part of the month due to EOFY preparations, but we did see a jump in temp roles in the earlier part of June.? Companies seem to be leaning towards temp-to-perm as an option to enable them to get someone on board quickly and reducing risk by using the temp period as a probationary period, before committing to offering a permanent role.? There is certainly more competition for candidates when interviewing and applying for jobs, but candidates who perform well at interview are getting snapped up quickly.

Some government departments have made cuts due to changes in funding, others are thriving and hiring staff. New budget releases are causing big changes in the temporary market in these spaces. Charities that depend on donations over government grants seem to be performing well, despite the cost of living, large donors are still able to pass on wealth and bequests.

Payroll has seen a significant increase in part time roles, in addition to an increase in roles in the education sector.?

We expect to see the typical uplift in roles following financial year end with new budgets and strategic plans being put into place.? This will likely drive an increase in more commercial and management level roles.

In Public Practice:

It is still a candidate short market, especially at senior level upwards in Business Services. This sector will be coming out of the busy tax season now, with most companies conducting staff reviews, so it's likely we will see movement in the market over the next few months. There are always plenty of opportunities available with some firms having multiple vacancies.

For Employers:

There are certainly more candidates in the market, which means that more employers have been leaning towards direct adverts to try to fill their vacancies.? The feedback we are receiving suggests that while application volume might be good, the ability to identify the right calibre of candidate from this process is still difficult.? Employers that have a long recruitment process are also finding it difficult to secure their candidate of choice as the best candidates will have more than one option, or lose faith in the business as a result of the process.? Flexibility and hybrid working is still high on the agenda for candidates, with most aiming for 2-3 days working from home OR flexibility to balance work and home life.

If you are planning your job search, we have a range of insights and advice on our website - https://www.hays.com.au/career-advice/job-hunting/planning-your-job-search – or simply give us a call and talk through your options.