HR roles are on the rise globally

A looming recession, hiring freezes and layoffs has shifted the labor market amid the ‘Great Resignation’.

But it remains a candidate’s market – LinkedIn found there is one open role for every active job seeker in Germany and the US, and two applicants per role in the UK and France.

“While the global economy is likely to be uncertain throughout most of 2023, there are bright spots in the labor market”, noted Karin Kimbrough, chief economist at LinkedIn.

The professional social network has analyzed millions of jobs taken up by LinkedIn members since January 2018. It then compiled those that saw consistent growth in 2022 into Jobs on the Rise lists for various countries in Europe and the US.

The research found that HR jobs are among those growing in popularity in the UK, France, Germany and the US.

Five HR roles – diversity, equity and inclusion (D,E&I) manager, HR analytics managers, chief people officers, employee experience managers and heads of reward – were among the top 25 jobs in the US.

Chief people officers (10^th) and heads of reward (23^rd) were also in demand in the UK; workplace coordinators came in at 15 in the UK. HR business partners and employer branding managers were among the top 25 jobs in Germany, and HR partner was 11^th in France.

This is good news for HR teams. The HR function has become even more business critical since COVID-19, but teams are overworked and burnout. They need additional support, particularly in areas like engagement and D,E&I that are climbing up employees’ agenda.

It is interesting that analytics-focused HR professionals – as well as data governance managers – are in demand in the US. This suggests that HR is becoming more and more data-driven, and keen to use insights to make better decisions about the workplace.

Sustainability and cybersecurity are also in demand

Of course, HR isn’t the only area seeing a rise of interest in 2023. Other sectors also on LinkedIn’s Jobs on the Rise lists in the US and Europe are cybersecurity and sustainability.

For instance, sustainability features on the lists in 13 countries. Examples of sustainability jobs on the rise are sustainability managers and consultants, which are roles that look closely at the environmental impact of business strategies or projects.

In the cybersecurity space, roles like security operations analysts, cybersecurity specialists, security engineers were on the rise in Europe. These individuals are responsible for detected

This comes as the World Economic Forum lists these sustainability and cybersecurity as their top risks for the world both in the short and the long-term. The warning around cybersecurity was a timely one; just this week there have been numerous attacks on large organizations, including the NHS, Royal Mail, FTX and Norton Liferock.

Ultimately, businesses need to get prepared, and hiring sustainability professionals and cybersecurity experts is part of the answer.

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