Hiring freedom when the cycle turns
The argument lands at an interesting moment. Conditions are not uniformly bleak: Australia’s broader vacancy fill rate has improved, according to Jobs and Skills Australia, suggesting recruitment difficulty has eased somewhat since 2023. But that does not mean specialist talent is suddenly abundant, especially in advisory-heavy sectors such as insurance and financial services. In New Zealand, meanwhile, financial services is growing in economic weight, with the FSC saying the sector contributed NZ$16.1 billion to GDP in the year to June 2025 and supported 73,146 filled jobs as of September 2025, up more than 16% since May 2019. Growth, in other words, is continuing even as the skills pipeline stays tight.