Review of the UK Jobs Market – March

Welcome to our Review of the UK Jobs Market for March. 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:

• Recruitment activity continues to decline in March
• Permanent staff pay growth lowest in over three years
• Further decline in staff demand signalled
• About supply continues to increase during March

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Staff Appointments

Permanent staff appointments in the UK continued to fall in march. Moreover, the rate of contraction was again marked and the steepest seen since last November. There was a drop in the number of available positions, amid recruitment freezes at companies due to an uncertain economic outlook. That said, there is also a shortage of available candidates to fill positions still!

March data revealed a further contraction in temp billings. Overall it was the fifth successive month in which a reduction in billings from the employment of short-term staff ha been registered. and the latest fall was also the most marked since July 2020. Amid evidence of budget restrictions at clients, there were reports of a lack of demand for temp workers.

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Vacancies

Demand for staff continues to decline

Permanent staff demand declines at a slightly softer rate than February’s 37-month record, but the fall was still solid and quicker then seen for temporary workers. Overall, demand for temp staff was down for a second month running, though again only marginally.

According to the most recent data from the ONS, and in line with the recent trend, the number of overall vacancies in the UK continued to fall int he three months to February. Overall, the number of available job opportunities was 908,000 down by 43,000 compared to the three months to November 2023.

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Staff Availability

Overall candidate supply increases at a steep pace

Permanent staff availability increased again in March, marking a thirteenth successive monthly increase. Moreover, the rate of growth picked up quite noticeably, reaching its highest level since last November. These were reports of increase redundancies, company restructuring and reduced vacancies. These factors led to an increase in the supply of people looking for a permanent positions.

Temporary candidate availability also rose for a thirteenth successive month in March. The rate of growth also acceletrated, reaching its highest level since last November. There was evidence of an increased number of redundancies as firms engaged in cost cutting against an uncertain backdrop.

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Pay Pressures

Latest data showed that permanent staff salaries continued to rise in March. However, the rate of increase was the lowest in the current sequence. Where pay was reported to have increased, it appears that companies were willing to bolster pay to attract and secure better quality candidates. An increase in the availability of workers did however serve to weigh on pay growth.

Source: KPMG and REC UK Report on Jobs 8th April 2024