Agency Blog

Finding the signal in the surge: Keegan Adams 2026 Mid Year Pulse report provides real data on market conditions Our 2026 midway State of the Workplace Update reveals record application numbers, low confidence, but cautious improvements. Mid-Year Report Our promised half-year update tracks the fastest-moving areas since the annual report. It found a thawing job market is thawing, although not uniformly across the board. Demand is returning and employers are cautiously going back to market, but candidates remain pessimistic. Candidates – in financial services, corporate services and tech & transformation – now apply for more jobs and trust the market less. Employers hold out for exact matches, and flexibility outbids pay. 5.7 months: the average time candidates expect to take to find a suitable position, up 18% from their last job search Only a quarter are very confident or certain they can find a suitable role. Over a third are unsure they can find one at all. The market appears to be at the start of an upward bounce, but employers are still hiring selectively. Applications up 36%: candidates now send over 32 each month Juniors in demand, seniors going cold: tech-qualified juniors see more doors open, while senior professionals face assumptions about their tech, adaptability, and aspirations. Flexibility is the top reason to stay (52%) and to move (60%), ahead of salary Job seekers want culture. The happy want 15%: active seekers rank culture and new challenges above pay, while candidates content in their role would need a rise of 15% or more to move A large pool is not an easy market. Hundreds of applications overwhelm internal talent teams and make identifying quality a challenge Claire Tate Keegan Adams Managing Director Claire Tate said: “Candidates are working harder than ever and believing in the market less. They’re sending…

Over the past 10 years, my career has been focused on project services, transformation and technology recruitment, working closely with organisations as they navigate change, build capability and bring new ideas and technology to life. Having now been with Keegan Adams for a year, I’ve had the opportunity to work closely with our clients, understand where their needs are evolving and identify a clear opportunity to expand our capability across Technology & Transformation. Over the past 12 months, we’ve seen increasing demand from our existing client base for specialist technology, transformation and project expertise. Building out a dedicated Technology & Transformation division felt like a natural next step, bringing together my experience in the market with the strong relationships and networks already established across Keegan Adams. So, what does Technology & Transformation cover? For us, it’s about supporting organisations through the people side of technology and business change — whether that’s delivering a major transformation programme, modernising technology platforms, adopting AI and automation, or bringing in the specialist technology talent needed to support growth. Our focus will broadly sit across three core areas: Project Services & Transformation – project, programme and transformation professionals helping organisations deliver meaningful change. AI & Automation – supporting businesses as they explore, implement and scale AI, automation and emerging technologies. Technology & Platform Modernisation – connecting organisations with the technology specialists they need to modernise platforms, applications, infrastructure and digital environments. While these areas can look quite different on the surface, they are becoming increasingly interconnected. AI is changing how organisations operate. Automation is changing how work gets delivered. Technology platforms are continually evolving. And transformation programmes increasingly sit across all three. That creates an interesting challenge for organisations: finding people who not only understand the technology, but also understand how to implement it, manage…

Job insecurity and polarised demand amount to a disorienting, sluggish job market. That’s what this year’s research found, published in the 2025/2026 annual Keegan Adams Financial Services Talent and Employment Report. Fear is driving an asymmetric job market, but forces are reshaping historic candidate movements, precipitating migration to smaller firms. Meanwhile, demand for very specific skills is high. Tenures have lengthened driven by job security fears: Job security is now workers number one concern. Reversing the trend of previous years, workers expect to stay an average 42% longer in their current role than in 2023. More than double those of 2024 expect to stay 5yrs or longer Finding a job is tough: over two thirds say it’s harder than a year ago Salaries remain in total stagnation: the average increase is just 0.07% above inflation But pockets of the market are hungry for quality talent and offer great opportunity Businesses are optimistic: only 14% think the market will worsen, and organic growth is their top 5-yr focus AI is not driving job losses yet: Only 17% of businesses say headcount reduction is a driver of AI adoption. The labour market is seen as impossible on both sides, but there is plenty of good news. The data reveals a polarised market, not a closed one, with heightened extremes of supply and demand across sectors and skillsets. Specific roles remain in strong demand and specialist skills command a premium. And a structural shift sees talent migrating from major institutions to smaller, high-growth employers. The report, which surveys both employers of tens of thousands of Australians and employees from across Financial, Corporate and Professional, and Tech and Transformation Services, found that last year’s redundancy waves at the major banks and financial institutions have reshaped the market. The resulting displacement has flooded the market…