Hiring for employees, however, will be 'slow and steady'
More than four in 10 employers in New Zealand are planning to hire more employees this year, but majority said they have no plans of adding more than five people to their rosters.
The Annual Job Market Insights Report from Trade Me Jobs revealed that 43% of employers are planning to hire more this year.
Another 42% they will only hire to replace departing employees, while two per cent said they will reduce their team size.
"Slow and steady seems to be the hiring motto of 2024," the report read.
In terms of numbers, 58% of those who plan on hiring said they only want to add up to two people in their organisation, while 27% plan to add between three and five people.
Reasons cited for the limited hiring numbers include already achieving adequate staffing levels, uncertainty in the economy, as well as difficulty in finding suitable candidates.
Source: Trade Me's Annual Job Market Insights Report
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Recruitment challenges
These hiring plans come as recruitment challenges continue to plague employers, with 81% expecting the search for good quality candidates to be the biggest challenge for them.
Others cited the worker and skills shortage, as well as recruiting in a competitive environment.
Source: Trade Me's Annual Job Market Insights Report
Aside from recruitment, employers are also expecting inflation and the year-on-year minimum wage increases to be their biggest challenges this year, according to the report.