Subdued employer confidence in the UK — partly linked to market uncertainty preceding Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves’s Autumn Budget — continued to stall hiring in November.
However, some signs point to a potential turnaround for the UK jobs market, according to the latest figures from the UK Report on Jobs by KPMG UK and the UK Recruitment and Employment Confederation.
The latest picture shows signs of improved market stability, Neil Carberry, the REC’s chief executive, said in the report. “Permanent hiring remained weaker, but numbers continue to improve a little month-on-month,” Carberry said.
Although the decline in permanent placements was marked, the degree to which placements fell eased again, the report found.
Overall, the rate of contraction for permanent staff was marginal and at its weakest since July 2024. The Permanent Placements Index — the report’s main hiring measure — remained below the neutral level of 50 but did rise from 45.2 in October to 45.5 in November. Job postings for permanent roles also declined at the slowest rate since June, but at a quicker pace than for temporary vacancies.
Improved pay rates also signalled improved stabilisation last month, Carberry said. Permanent salary rates had the fastest increase in the region since June but remained historically modest. Upticks in pay continued to reflect competition to secure qualified candidates, according to recruiters surveyed for the report. Temporary pay rates remained unchanged
Despite exhibiting signs of recovery, the jobs market experienced the second-sharpest rate of expansion in staff availability since late 2020, and temporary hiring declined slightly this month after a marginal rebound in October.
While November’s data reflects key areas of growth, the impacts of higher employment costs continue to leave the UK jobs market “stuck in contraction”, as employers balance recent tech investments against their recruitment needs, Lisa Fernihough, head of advisory at KPMG UK, said in the report.
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