January 2025 sees uptick in white-collar job creation
More professional (white-collar) job roles were posted by the world’s leading companies in January 2025 than had been seen for over three months (since October 2024).
There was a +54% increase in professional roles in January 2025 compared to the number of job vacancies posted in December 2024, although this was from a low base.
New data from the Robert Walters Global Jobs Index – published on Tuesday 18 February 2025, in conjunction with Vacancysoft - highlights the shifting dynamics in job creation across industries and geographies.
Toby Fowlston, CEO of global talent solutions business Robert Walters, comments: “Given the widespread hiring pauses we saw in December, we were anticipating an uptick in January – particularly because the comparative data was from such a low base.
“Nonetheless, the fact that January job volumes are on par with October 2024 is a positive sign, given we have started the year amid various global factors causing flux in the market.”
Countries leading the way
The US continues to be the leading country for job creation across white-collar roles in the world’s biggest companies - making up 31% of the total in January 2025, followed by India (16.61%) and the UK (7.72%).
Poland (1.62%) makes an appearance in the Top 10 for job creation by volume in January 2025 for the first time – notably for roles within financial services and professional services.
Fowlston adds: “Poland continues to attract investors looking to establish and expand their operations in Warsaw and other key cities. A highly skilled yet cost-effective workforce, combined with the country’s strong EU integration and strategic geographical location, makes it an attractive destination for businesses. The past year alone has seen a wave of offshoring and nearshoring activity that underscores Poland’s growing appeal on the global stage."
Demand for business support, procurement and supply chain, and HR specialists was higher across almost all major sectors in January
Professional services holds strong
Job roles increased by +38.16% across the world’s leading professional services firms in January, compared to the monthly average for the last six months of 2024.
In fact, just four countries (out of the top 10 for professional services employment) reported a decline in January vs the H2 monthly average of 2024 – Germany (-29.91%), Australia (-8.36%), France (-4.72%), and Italy (-3.30%).
India topped the charts for creating the most new jobs in January (+58.13% vs 2024 H2 monthly average) within professional services.
HR, procurement & supply chain, tech, and consultant roles were amongst some of the most in-demand across the professional services sector in January 2025.
Fowlston commented: “January data for professional services firms is generally in line with what we saw in 2024, where the industry as a whole was not as harshly hit as others.”
Financial services broadly shows signs of recovery
Financial services saw an +57.51% increase in new job creation in Jan 2025 (vs Dec 2024). When comparing Jan ’25 to Jan ’24 – job volumes have actually increased by +11.16%.
Taking a step back and analysing January job volume to the average across the second half of 2024, then there was a marginal decrease of -0.15%.
Legal and regulatory specialists are the most in demand professionals across the financial services sector – roles were +13.97% higher in January, when compared against the 2024 monthly average.
Consumer Goods & Services lags behind
Whilst job roles increased by +73.42% in January 2025 (vs December 2024) across CGS, it actually fell by -14.64% when compared to the H2 monthly average of the previous year.
The USA saw the biggest drop in roles across CGS in January – with this being -26.15% lower than the 2024 H2 monthly average.
Fowlston added: “With the new President only taking office at the end of January, consumer confidence remained in a state of flux as people are still unsure of what to expect. As consumer confidence stablises and grows, we typically see this having a positive impact on job flow across the CGS space – but we don’t envision seeing this happen until after the first quarter.”
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