Review of the UK Jobs Market – December 2024

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

• Cost concerns and redundancies reported at UK companies
• Pay continues to rise for high quality candidates
• Staff availability increases to the greatest degree in six months

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Staff Appointments

Temp billings continued to fall in December. It was the sixth successive monthly contraction recorded. Recruitment market activity was reported to be slower, with firms reluctant to take on or replace staff given some economic uncertainty and the recent Government budget.

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Vacancies

Vacancies continue to contract sharply

Latest vacancy data showed another drop in demand for staff in December. Permanent vacancies fell at a steeper degree than for temp staff. Overall, the decline in permanent vacancies was the steepest in nearly four-and-a-half years. Nonetheless, temp vacancies fell for a fifth successive month and to the greatest degree since June 2020.

According to the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), UK vacancy numbers continued to fall in the there months to November, dropping 10,000 since October to a level of 818,000. That’s the lowest overall level since the three months to May 2021.

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Staff Availability

Availability of staff rises sharply in December

The availability of workers to fill permanent positions increased again in December, extending the current period of growth to 22 months. There were again reports that a combination of low demand and a growing number of redundancies (reflecting of cost cutting at firms) underpinned the rise in staff availability.

As has been the case since March 2023, an increase in the availability of temporary workers in the UK was recorded in December. A lack of vacancies and a general market slowdown were reported to have led to a further rise in temp staff availability.

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Pay Pressures

Permanent salaries increased again during December, in line with the trend recorded since March 2021. It was reported that competition for high quality candidates had raised starting salaries. However, an increase in the supply of candidates somewhat limited salary growth.

Source: KPMG and REC UK Report on Jobs 9th January 2025