As a professional recruitment agency, and member of The Recruitment & Employment Confederation, REC, Pursuit Resources are continually looking at the latest industry trends enabling us to support both our clients and candidates effectively. Within this blog, we shall be looking at recent studies conducted by KPMG, REC and a report conducted by IHS Markit on the UK job market.
The report conducted by IHS Markit is from responses to questionnaires sent out to c.400 UK recruitment and employment consultancies.
Within the report, the key findings from the information compiled included:
That hiring activity has continued to grow with a high demand for new recruits.
An increase in starting salaries being needed to secure talented individuals.
That candidate availability has dropped at a slightly softer rate.
An Increase in Permanent Employment
Throughout Q4, with a particular emphasis on November, an increase of hiring activity, and effort to fill vacancies was noted. Placements for permanent employees also rose at a sharper rate than placements in October. This resulted in the sharpest upturn on permanent placements since records began. October also saw permanent placements vastly outpace temporary staff bookings.
Vacancy Growth
The demand for additional employees has continued to grow rapidly across the UK throughout Q4, this was despite the rate of expansion slipping to a six-month low.
Candidate Supply: Softest decline since May 2021
Following a turbulent 2020, the UK job market faced a candidate shortage whilst candidates understandably waited to comprehend how businesses we’re reacting to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The latest data from November 2021 showed that the candidate shortage eased to its weakest since May of this year. This being said, candidate shortage has still remained substantial for both permanent and temporary workers since record began in 1997. This has been linked to the pandemic, a greater demand for staff and Brexit.
A sharp increase in Permanent Starter Salaries
With a shortage of candidates, and the growing need to attract high quality candidates, Employers have been forced to offer steep increases in starter salaries. This pattern has also been noted within temporary workers too.
Variations: Regional and Sector Specific
Both London and The Midlands have reported a strong, enhanced rise in permanent places, whereas The South of England has reported the slowest upturn.
London again, have also reported the most significant uplift in temporary placements.
Unsurprisingly, the private sector has shown to remain considerably more active among the need for permanent and temporary candidates.
Throughout November, the IT & Computing sector has proved to require the highest demand for new employees, this has been closely followed by the Hospitality sector.
Retail on the other hand has reported the slowest increase for short-term vacancies.
To see the original article posted by REC, please click here.
If you would be interested in discussing further how Pursuit Resources can aide you in finding the highest quality talent to fill your positions, please call 01245 362 500 to speak with one of our talented consultants. Alternatively, to find out more information, please email info@pursuitgroup.co.uk