Review of the UK Jobs Market – April 2025

Welcome to our Review of the UK Jobs Market for April. Each month, we share market insight on the state of the UK jobs market.

You can either read our short blog, or see our infographic.

The main findings were:

• • Permanent placements decline at softest rate in seven months

  • Candidate numbers rise amid further drop in vacancies

  • Temp wage growth improves to 11-month high

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Staff Appointments

Billings received from the employment of short-term staff fell for the tenth month in a row during April. Though solid, the rate of reduction was the slowest seen in the year to date. Firms were reluctant to take on short-term workers due to uncertainty around the outlook and concerns over higher staff costs.

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Vacancies

Further steep reduction in demand for workers

April signalled a drop in overall demand for staff for the eighteenth successive month. There were quicker and similarly steep falls in demand for both permanent and temporary staff. Notably, temporary vacancies fell at the sharpest pace since June 2020.

Latest data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) indicated there were 781,000 vacancies across the UK in the three months to March. This represented a drop of 26,000 from the preceding three-month period and the lowest recorded since the three months to May 2021. Notably, the figures was approximately 5% lower than the pre-pandemic level.

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Staff Availability

Expansion in permanent staff supply eases only slightly

Recruiters across the UK signalled a further improvement in the availability of staff for permanent position in April. Furthermore, the rate of expansion held close to March’s 51-month record. Anecdotal evidence indicated that the supply of workers had often increased due to job losses stemming from company restructuring and redundancies. Some noted that workers were seeking new roles due to concerns around job security and efforts to secure higher paying roles.

Temporary candidate numbers continue to rise sharply

April also signalled a further substantial increase in temporary staff supply. Notably the rate of growth eased only slightly from March and was among the quickest seen n the past from years. Reduced demand for workers, fewer job opportunities and redundancies were cited.

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Pay Pressures

Salaries awarded to newly-placed permanent workers increased for the fiftieth month in a row in April. Efforts to attract and secure high quality candidates was a key factor in pushing up salaries.

Source: KPMG and REC UK Report on Jobs 12th May 2025