Observations about the market

We have read the headlines about the job market, but what is it like if you are searching or if you are hiring specific to Oracle talent? Overall, it is a Heat wave, but a little confusing.

In the USA, total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 372,000 in June, and the unemployment rate remained at?3.6 percent, the?U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics?reported July 6th. 3.5% is the lowest rate reported in 50 years, anything under 4% is considered full employment. Basically, if you want a job you can get one.

That sounds great, but does that have anything to do with the Oracle ERP marketplace? Yes, however, this market is more niche. We are seeing selectiveness for both companies and candidates. The biggest challenge is, why would a candidate leave an existing job for a lateral move, however, they clients don't want to pay a premium to get that candidate to move. We are seeing this heat wave scenario play out and here is an example.

The Oracle business analyst candidate earns $120k and is passively interested in another job. They have remote flexibility, good benefits, and while some challenges with the job they mostly lie within career advancement opportunities at an established company. The candidate is not interested in a lateral move and will only interview for positions at $140-150k, which are less in supply. To earn a tier up, the candidate will need to possess additional skills and compete against candidates who are already earning $140-150k. Will they be up to the challenge to compete vs. the next pay level? In many cases, the answer is no and they won't get the job at $140-150k and will remove themselves from future interviews since the process took awhile. The company won't pay the $140-150k person $170k either. We have a role still open increasing the supply of jobs and a candidate out of the market decreasing supply of candidates, unless someone moves their expectations.

You ask, what about contract consulting? Is that the same? Short answer, yes. The independent consultant with premium skills in Oracle ERP (JDE/PeopleSoft/EBS and especially Oracle cloud) can find a new position. While Cloud is the fastest, for example we had a financials Oracle Cloud BA working exclusively with us end a job and have an offer within a week to start a new job. That is fast!

While it does take longer for certain skills for on premise candidates, we do see a consistent flow of resource requirements, for both contract consulting and direct hire roles. While on-site/remote will continue to be a key question, we are still seeing a lot of remote only roles. It is more common for companies to offer remote as a perk vs. increased salary, so if you like the role and the company, go for it even if the salary isn't what you hope to create in a bidding war. While the economy wavers in future status, we always believe a bird in the hand is better than 3 in the bush. If both parties set expectations on the front end people are finding jobs, but be realistic in what companies will offer. While CPI inflation is at 9.1% currently, salaries have not gone up 9.1%.