Key points from July:
- Permanent placements growth reaches 27-month record
- Marked decline in staff availability contributes to further increases in pay.
The jobs market continues to confound expectations with both permanent and temporary placements growing at the fastest rate for over two years. Starting salaries are also still rising, so for workers who want to boost their earnings now is a good time to consider moving job.
It’s clear that employers are having to work even harder to fill jobs as vacancies rise and candidate availability shrinks. UK employment remains at an all-time high and looks set to keep improving. The parts of the economy most reliant on European workers are under even more pressure as many EU workers return home.
London in particular is feeling the Brexit effect. Hiring is still growing but at a much slower rate compared with every other region of the UK. Financial services, a crucial part of the London labour market, are not hiring in their usual quantity as the uncertainty caused by Brexit makes them hesitant.
Candidate availability continues to decline markedly…
The availability of permanent workers continued to fall sharply during July although the rate of reduction eased for permanent staff.
…imparting further upward pressure on pay
Starting salaries for successful permanent candidates rose further in July, with the rate of inflation reaching a 20-month record.
