These were the top trends in 2024 — and this is how employees start the new year

Press release

Stepstone analysis: These were the top trends in 2024 — and this is how employees start the new year 

DUESSELDORF, December 17, 2024 — Job changes, salary increases and less stress: employees have clear plans for 2025.  A recent study by The Stepstone Group with 8,600 respondents and an analysis of job searches and job advertisements on Stepstone.de show which trends have shaped the job market in 2024 and which resolutions people are pursuing in the coming year. Every second respondent plans to look for a new job in 2025.  

The five most important findings:

1. Most popular job in 2024: educator

Educators were the most desired profession on Stepstone.de in 2024, followed by medical assistants. The chances of finding a suitable job in this field are currently very good: in November alone, more than a quarter more jobs in the education sector were advertised on Stepstone.de than in January 2020 — before the coronavirus pandemic. Jobs in the healthcare sector were also 13% higher than around five years ago.

“Educator is the job of the future — not only because children deserve the best care, but also because our job market will collapse without educators,” says labor market expert Dr. Tobias Zimmermann from The Stepstone Group. “We cannot afford to lose even more working hours as a society because childcare is not guaranteed.”

2. Lateral entry is booming

The number of Stepstone.de jobs explicitly aimed at career changers from lateral entrants has quadrupled in the last five years — especially in sales and retail, but also in plant mechanics, office workers, train drivers or in logistics. At the same time, job seekers are also increasingly open to switching to a completely different job: 'lateral entry' was one of the top 3 search terms on Stepstone.de this year.

“Straightforward career paths are becoming increasingly rare, and career changes are becoming the new normal. Skills will be the decisive factor, not just degrees,” says Zimmermann.

3. New year, new job, better salary

Changing jobs is a popular New Year's resolution: almost one in two (48%) would like to look for a new job in the new year. Almost two thirds of those willing to change jobs would like a higher salary (64%). 42% hope that they will be able to achieve a better work-life balance — almost as many would like better career and development opportunities (40%) or more interesting tasks (38%).

“Salary remains the number one deciding factor when choosing an employer,” says Zimmermann. “However, it is also clear that not every company can constantly increase salary levels. Further training measures also make employers attractive and strengthen their position in the competition for suitable candidates.”

4. Never without my team

A third of all respondents have no ambitions to change jobs in the foreseeable future. The main reason: every second respondent would like to stay with their current employer due to the good relationship with colleagues and superiors.

“We generally spend around eight hours a day at our workplace — often more time with colleagues than with friends. A functioning team structure is the main feel-good factor at work — the team fit should also be considered when recruiting new employees,” says Zimmermann.

5. Top resolution for 2025: Less stress

Reducing stress is at the top of the list for every second respondent. At the same time, more than one in three have made it their resolution to further their education — and 33% want to do something meaningful in their job.

“People experience stress above all when they feel pressure from a heavy workload or see no meaning in their tasks. This is detrimental to their productivity. When employees are given the opportunity to focus on their core competencies and hand over unloved repetitive tasks to new technologies, it motivates them,” says Zimmermann.

*General search terms such as “training”, “mini-job” etc., which do not relate to a specific profession or occupational field, were excluded from the analysis.
 

About the analysis of job searches on Stepstone.de

For the analysis of search trends on Stepstone.de, all search terms on the platform in the period from January 1 — October 30, 2024 were evaluated and sorted by frequency of entry.

About the analysis of job advertisements on Stepstone.de

To analyze the development of job advertisements on Stepstone.de, the number of paid job advertisements on Stepstone.de in November 2024 was compared with the number of paid job advertisements on Stepstone.de in January 2020. The data basis for the analysis of lateral entry jobs is the average number of daily job advertisements on Stepstone.de that included this term. The analysis cover the period from January 2019 to July 2024.

About the study

What plans do job seekers have in 2025? Do they want to change employer or stay? And what role does salary play? In the “Job & Salary” study, Stepstone surveyed around 8,600 employees in Germany in November 2024 on these and other topics, including around 1,600 managers and over 800 recruiters. The survey is representative of the German working population by age, gender and education.

About The Stepstone Group 
The Stepstone Group is a leading global digital recruitment platform that connects companies with the right talent and helps people find the right job. AI-driven job marketplaces and programmatic-powered marketing solutions connect more than 130 million job applications with around 140,000 employers every year. In 2023, The Stepstone Group generated revenue of around €1 billion. The Stepstone Group operates in more than 30 countries — including Stepstone in Germany, Appcast in the USA and Totaljobs in the UK. The company is headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany and employs more than 3,500 people worldwide. For more information: www.thestepstonegroup.com

Contact

The Stepstone Group Media Relations

press@stepstone.com