The market has taken several turns and twists over the past couple of years — from entire operations having to go completely remote overnight and employees leveraging a hot labor market to secure new roles (dubbing the term the “Great Resignation”) to today’s “quiet quitting.”

And despite the economy having added 21.5 million jobs and 3.6% unemployment rate this year, (Source: Deloitte Insights), today’s macroeconomic backdrop — unprecedented inflation and a potential recession on the horizon — are significantly impacting purchasing power, incomes and the labor market as a whole.

In private equity alone, we saw a surge in hiring over the last three years to meet the high demand of deal making activity. While in 2023 we may see a slowdown due to the decrease in PE deal flows and muted valuations, global dry powder should offset sharp declines and counteract layoffs. We predict that the below hiring and compensation trends will be front and center in private equity in the coming year.

A tight job market still favors employees 

42% of respondents are planning on changing jobs within the next quarter

2022 PECXO Survey

An uneven economic recovery from industries hit hardest by Covid shutdowns (entertainment, hospitality, restaurants), coupled with recent headlines around layoffs in the banking and tech sectors may seem daunting, however, CXO demand (and talent shortage) are at an all-time high.

The challenges posed by the pandemic, interest rate fluctuations, and the overall macroeconomic landscape honed in on the A-players that can outperform and withstand harsh economic cycles. Today’s strong candidates acquired even more sellab...