Key points market indicators :
- Steep increases in permanent placements
- Severe staff shortages leads to quickest rise in starting salaries for three years
- Staff vacancies expand at the quickest pace since last November
Despite growth in demand for staff this month, there has been another drop in staff availability. There has been a rise in client recruitment indicating that employers are feeling confident in making hiring decisions but a lack of candidates remains a major challenge
Because of the lack of candidate availability we are seeing employers paying higher salaries to attract the right people. This is only part of the solution, with employers also having to think about providing a more flexible working environment and progression opportunities. With skills needs and candidate expectations continuing to evolve, employers are having to radically re-imagine their hiring procedures.
Appointments continue to rise strongly…
Permanent appointments continued to rise at a robust pace, despite growth softening to a five-month low.
…as demand for staff strengthens
Growth of demand for staff strengthened to a six-month high in May, with sharp increases in permanent roles .
Sharp fall in candidate availability…
Overall, candidate availability declined at a sharper rate midway through the second quarter. Candidate numbers fell at the fastest rate for four months, while short-term staff availability deteriorated at the quickest pace since last November.
…leads to steepest increase in starting salaries for three years
Strong demand for staff and low candidate availability underpinned further increases in starting salaries and temp pay. Notably, salaries awarded to successfully placed permanent workers rose at the steepest rate for three years
