Recruitment Outlook Report – September 2024

The latest KPMG and REC Report on Jobs reveals that “UK businesses have put hiring on hold because of uncertainty over the government’s plans on tax, industrial strategy and workers’ rights…” according to the Financial Times. Confidence is shaky with teasers about tough decisions that will come in the 30th October Autumn Budget.

As Neil Carberry, REC Chief Executive said in his foreword to the report,

“This is a picture of a jobs market waiting for a signal. Recruiters report that projects in client businesses are ready to go, but confidence is not yet high enough to push the button.”

Let’s take a closer look at the Report’s data, so that we can understand why we need these signals from the government to get the jobs market moving into recovery.

Candidates being put into new jobs continues to fall

There have now been two years of decreases in the number of people being put into permanent positions. However, the positive news is that while August was particularly sharp in terms of contraction, the contraction in September was softer. It’s a similar picture for those being placed in temporary jobs too. In fact, the numbers doing temporary work has declined at the steepest rate since April. Broadly, this is a consistent picture for permanent and temporary jobs across the country; however, it’s particularly marked in London and the South. Companies are holding fire, waiting for a confidence boost which will only come with greater clarity from the government.

Pay growth continues to slow down

With intense pay inflation, employers have had to offer higher and higher salaries to secure top talent for several years. This has been gradually easing over the last three months. Indeed, pay inflation for permanent positions was the lowest in September since February 2021. This is happening due to rising candidate numbers combined with reduced demand. Notably, temporary position pay inflation has stopped for the first time in 3.5 years. It’s worth noting that this isn’t the case in the North of England, where there was an increase in temporary pay recorded.

The number of vacancies continues to decline

The rate of contraction in permanent vacancies is now at the steepest since March, with thirteen months in total of a downward trend. Also, the demand for temporary workers has fallen for the second month in a row. The contraction was relatively modest, but it was nonetheless the fastest contraction since July 2020.

Candidate availability continues to rise

The increasing number of redundancies, combined with the lower demand for workers, means that employers who do want to hire are finding larger candidate pools. The availability of candidates continues to grow, but it has eased to its lowest level since February. It’s a similar picture for both temporary and permanent candidates. There have now been nineteen successive months of growth in the number of available candidates.

As I posted via LinkedIn on the publishing of this latest Report on Jobs,

“The recruitment sector is an excellent barometer of the wider economy because we serve the wider economy.”

This latest report matters, and waiting several weeks until the Autumn Budget to boost business confidence is stifling growth. We know that being sat in limbo is wasting time when the jobs market (and the wider economy with it), could be gaining momentum for much needed growth and expansion.

As we wait for further direction from the government, employers and candidates alike should be poised, ready to act with greater confidence that will come with more information. We are here to help you maximise your opportunities. Get in touch with us on 0161 359 3111.

We publish an overview of the REC/KPMG Jobs Outlook Report each month to keep you up to date with the UK recruitment and jobs market month by month.

Contact us today if you need specialist support to secure your future management or senior level workforce in Engineering/Manufacturing.

Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook for regular articles, reports, videos, guidance and support relating to recruitment for businesses and individuals.

#REC #KPMG #JobsOutlook #Recruitment #ExecutiveRecruitment #UKMfg #UKManufacturing #BusinessLeaders

Book a call if you'd like to discuss how we can help you find the best people for your business. We are 2024 Financial Times award-winning recruitment professionals for a reason. https://tiny.cc/QuickCall