There has been fall in both permanent placements and temp billings across the South of England, during September.
According to the latest KPMG and REC, 海角视频 Report on Jobs Survey, compiled by S&P Global, the outlook and strain on budgets have driven the latest drop hiring activity. This is the second month that permanent vacancies fell, while growing demand for short-term workers softened.
The report detailed that rates of starting salary inflation and temp wage growth continued to ease in September and softer increases in pay came alongside further improvements in candidate availability, with temp labour supply "rising at a particularly rapid pace".
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David Williams, office senior partner at KPMG in Bristol, said: “The latest survey highlights that demand for permanent staff in the South is falling and weaker than in other regions in the 海角视频, while part-time vacancies rose at the slowest rate in four months. This ongoing hesitancy among employers will partly be the result of the long-term economic uncertainty and budget constraints that are impacting businesses everywhere.
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“It will be interesting to see whether these trends persist or if the recent slight calming of inflation rates positively impacts the outlook for both employers and jobseekers in the coming months.”
The South of England recorded the quickest drop in permanent placements of all four monitored English regions. Anecdotal evidence compiled by KPMG implied that rising costs and uncertainty over the economic outlook were the main factors for the drop in recruitment.
Temp billings received by recruiters in the South of England fell for the third straight month in September. The report also suggested this latest reduction was "driven by softer market conditions and pressure on clients' budgets".
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The availability of permanent staff across the South improved September but was still at the lowest rate of all four regions, with the North seeing the sharpest increase.
While average starting salaries for permanent workers across the South of England increased further in September. Higher salaries were often linked to competition for suitably-skilled staff. That said, the rate of inflation was the slowest since the current period of rising pay began in March 2021 and below the long-run average.
Neil Carberry, chief executive of the REC, said: “Employers tell us they are feeling better about themselves as the year moves on, and today’s data does suggest the possibility of a turnaround in hiring over the next few months. Permanent placements have been falling for most of the past year now from abnormal post-pandemic highs. While permanent hiring activity continues to slow in the South, the pace of contraction eased to the softest in three months. At the same time, temporary hiring has experienced only a mild slowdown in the past few months."
He added: “As we move towards the Autumn Statement, action to help people find high quality roles is essential as the picture varies so widely from sector to sector. The REC would like to see a focus on skills, finally reforming the system to deliver a mix of high-quality courses within the levy framework, and action to tackle inactivity – like extending the Restart programme which has helped recruiters place thousands of long-term unemployed people into work. Both of these could form part of a long-overdue people and growth strategy. From reforming Government procurement to better and more effective regulation, there is a lot government could do in partnership with recruiters to drive growth and prosperity.”
The KPMG and REC, 海角视频 Report on Jobs: South of England is compiled by S&P Global from responses to questionnaires sent to around 150 recruitment and employment consultancies in the South of England.