The number of people looking for a job in the UK increased over the past month, and recruitment activity fell again. However, the main hiring measure in a monthly report has risen twice in the past three months, producing a substantial upturn since January.
That’s according to the UK Report on Jobs from KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).
The report’s Permanent Placements Index remained below the neutral level of 50 but did rise from 43.4 in March to 44.7 in April. That’s well above January’s index of 39.8. Indices with a reading above 50 indicate an overall increase and below 50 an overall decrease compared with the previous month.
“While we are yet to see real momentum build, hopes of an improving picture in the second half of the year should be buoyed by today’s data,” Neil Carberry, the REC’s chief executive, said in the report.
Recruitment activity “continued to be muted”, stretching the period of decline to 31 months. Staff availability rose at an accelerated pace, the second-fastest on record since December 2020, as vacancies declined sharply for both permanent and temporary staff.
Permanent and temporary vacancies fell steeply, with temporary vacancies declining at the sharpest rate since June 2020.
Staff availability spiked from increased redundancies following company restructuring efforts, the report showed. Consequently, staff supply continues to surpass demand as economic uncertainty amplifies budgetary pressures for employers.
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