The initial demands for jobs (5)
I believe the answer is:
tasks
'for jobs' is the definition.
('task' can be a synonym of 'job')
'the initial demands' is the wordplay.
'initial' indicates taking the first letters.
'demands' becomes 'asks' ('ask' can be a synonym of 'demand').
The initial letter of 'the' is 't'.
't'+'asks'='TASKS'
(Other definitions for tasks that I've seen before include "Jobs to be done" , "'Jobs, undertakings (5)'" , "various jobs" , "Pieces of work" , "Assignments" .)