The recruitment market in France experienced a notable shift in 2024. Recruitment projects declined compared to 2023, marking a significant slowdown.
In this context, the practices of recruiters and the expectations of candidates have transformed due to several simultaneous factors: technological pressure, evolving European regulations, and a reconfiguration of sought-after skills.
European Regulation on AI and Recruitment: A Clarifying Framework
The most structuring issue for the sector in 2024 is not the adoption of artificial intelligence itself, but the legal framework that accompanies it. The European regulation on AI (AI Act) classifies systems used to filter applications or assess candidates as high-risk systems. This classification imposes obligations of transparency, documentation, and human oversight on companies deploying these tools.
Prohibitions regarding certain practices, particularly the inference of emotions in the workplace, will apply from February 2, 2025. The timeline for obligations for high-risk systems has undergone subsequent modifications, making it necessary to verify the current legal version before any compliance efforts.
Several recruitment firms that used behavioral scoring or video analysis tools are directly affected, even as the precise contours of the obligations remain to be clarified for certain uses.
According to APEC, among companies that recruited an executive in 2024, a small share had already integrated AI tools into their process. Others were considering doing so, but the actual implementation remained limited. The gap between media discourse on AI and the reality of practices in companies is one of the notable observations of this year. Following the news on the CCM Recrutement site allows for a concrete measurement of this evolution over the months.
Recruitment and Salary Transparency: What the European Directive Changes
The European directive on pay transparency adopted in 2023 is beginning to impact recruitment processes, even though its transposition into French law is not yet effective. The central principle is clear: candidates must be able to know the salary level or salary range before the interview or as soon as the job offer is published.
For recruiters, this evolution profoundly changes the negotiation mechanics. Publishing a salary range requires structuring internal grids in advance, something that many SMEs have not yet formalized. Displaying salaries in job offers remains minority practice in France, while it is becoming commonplace in other European countries.
The distinction between European law and the rules effectively applicable in France is to be monitored. Companies that anticipate this obligation gain a competitive advantage with candidates, in a context where transparency is among the most cited selection criteria.
Sought-After Skills in 2024: Beyond Digital
The pressure on the labor market is not limited to digital or engineering jobs. The hardest-to-fill positions are in sectors where working conditions, compensation, and attractiveness have posed structural problems for several years.
For executives, the decline is noticeable. This downturn reflects a wait-and-see attitude linked to the economic context, but also a reconfiguration of needs. Recruiters are seeking fewer generalist profiles and more hybrid skills, combining technical expertise and relational capabilities.
- Behavioral skills (adaptability, communication, problem-solving) remain a major selection criterion, sometimes as discriminating as technical skills in distinguishing between two candidates of equivalent level.
- The ecological transition is generating recruitment needs in roles that did not exist or were rare five years ago, such as carbon footprint managers or environmental compliance officers.
- The expected mass retirements by 2030 are increasing pressure on workforce renewal in many sectors.
Candidate Expectations in 2024: Unwavering Demands
The decrease in recruitment volumes has not rebalanced the power dynamics as some employers hoped. Candidates, even in less qualified sectors, maintain high demands regarding flexibility, meaningful work, and working conditions.
The hybrid model (in-person and remote work) remains a strong marker. Companies that impose a full return to the office without compensation face refusals or withdrawals during the process. This phenomenon is particularly documented among executives, but it also affects intermediate profiles in support functions.
The volatility of candidates poses an operational challenge. A candidate engaged in a process may accept a competing offer at any moment, which extends recruitment timelines and increases the cost per hire. The speed of the recruitment process has become a competitive advantage for companies capable of making a decision in less than two weeks.
The recruitment market in 2024 is characterized by this tension between a declining volume of offers and qualitative demands that do not diminish. Companies that recruit effectively are those that have formalized their salary grids, shortened their processes, and clarified their value proposition even before publishing a job offer.
