Financial services wage gains “stagnated” at 3.6% last year to beat inflation by just 0.4%, recruitment agency Keegan Adams says.  

And job insecurity has jumped up the list of concerns, with workers tending more towards “staying put”. 

“Turnover was down further last year,” the agency says in a report. “We saw a real slowdown in hiring ... moving up to the end of the calendar year. However, the market turned a corner with the calendar page, and confidence and appetite are returning.”

A recent Keegan Adams survey, mostly conducted in Sydney, found more than half of respondents report mental health impacts due to colleague redundancies.  

Three in five say finding a job is more difficult now than in the previous year, and job security has jumped to be the second most important consideration after salary, up from fifth the previous year.

Job flexibility has slipped to fifth from third, and team culture to third from first. 

“We are seeing tight budgets hold salaries down and bring productivity to the top of companies’ concerns,” MD Claire Keegan said.

“They also mean smaller hiring budgets, which – with confusion and job insecurity keeping employees in place – are seeing a great freeze.”

The gap between salary expectations and market reality has widened, she says.  

“Five years ago, a job move might have brought a 10%-20% pay increase. In today’s market, there might be no change.”

The survey also found 47% of workplaces are mandating more days in the office, with the average now 3.25 a week.

While 60% of survey respondents are unhappy with back-to-office rules, only 10% of employers recognise that the mandates affect employee satisfaction.

Keegan Adams says the rising cost of doing business and economic conditions are increasing pressure on leaders to do more with less, bringing “productivity and performance into sharp relief. Underperforming employees are under greater scrutiny, with budgets reallocated to high-impact areas and rewarding exceptional contributors.” 

The agency says 39% of employers improved staff value propositions last year, including learning and development, wellbeing benefits and diversity. 

“The Trump administration’s crosshairs are starting to impact local firms, but many feel confident Australian financial services will maintain their goals and initiatives, as large superannuation, insurance and financial services firms reconfirm commitments,” the report said.