Recruitment report identifies sharp rise in vacancies for warehouse staff and cleaners but large fall in graduate opportunities
Graduates fresh from university will find it difficult to find a job after a 35% drop in hiring by employers over the last year, according to analysis by a leading recruitment data provider.
Hiring freezes at many employers have taken the biggest toll on graduates and meant there is fierce competition for the few jobs left for younger workers.
Continue reading...Recruitment report identifies sharp rise in vacancies for warehouse staff and cleaners but large fall in graduate opportunities
Graduates fresh from university will find it difficult to find a job after a 35% drop in hiring by employers over the last year, according to analysis by a leading recruitment data provider.
Hiring freezes at many employers have taken the biggest toll on graduates and meant there is fierce competition for the few jobs left for younger workers.
Continue reading...Economic uncertainty also a factor as bosses ‘stuck in limbo’ and drop in recruitment hits young people hardest
Hiring intentions among Britain’s businesses remain at a record low as they grapple with rising employment costs and worry about the economic outlook, with young people hit hardest by the drop in recruitment.
Three separate surveys issued on Monday painted a gloomy picture on hiring activity, pay and business confidence, with claims that bosses were “stuck in limbo” and waiting for greater clarity in the autumn budget.
Continue reading...ONS data shows jobless rate climbing to highest rate since June 2021 with growth in average earnings slowing to 5%.
Unemployment climbed and wage growth slowed in the three months to May, according to official figures that will pressure the Bank of England to cut interest rates next month.
Data from the Office for National Statistics, released on Thursday, showed that Britain’s official unemployment rate rose to 4.7% in the three months to May, up 0.1% from April to reach the highest level since June 2021.
Continue reading...KPMG/REC report shows decline in people being placed in roles continues, while unemployment is rising, says BDO
Companies are putting the brakes on hiring new staff amid a “subdued” economic outlook and rising wage bills, according to the latest business surveys.
In signs of a weakening UK labour market, the consultancy KPMG and the trade body the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) said a marked decline in the number of people being placed in permanent and temporary roles continued in February, although hiring declined at a slower pace than in January.
Continue reading...Survey reveals net fall in permanent jobs last month amid lengthening slowdown in employment market
The UK’s largest employers have warned the jobs market is cooling amid a slowdown in wage growth in July and a fall in vacancies, extending an almost two-year downturn in hiring demand for permanent staff.
Figures from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and the accountancy firm KPMG showed a fall in permanent staff placements in July as large employers made more redundancies and hired fewer new starters.
Continue reading...Figures provide mixed message for Bank of England when it considers interest rate cut next month
The level of real pay for UK workers is rising at its fastest rate in more than two years despite a cooling of the labour market that has led to rising unemployment and falling job vacancies, the latest official figures show.
Fresh data from the Office for National Statistics showed the mild recession in the second half of 2023 has had an impact on demand for workers but has been slower to affect wages.
Continue reading...Basic pay rises at joint-fastest rate on record, protecting workers from soaring inflation but adding to pressure on Bank of England
Bloomberg agrees that the Bank of England will not be pleased by today’s jobs report, saying:
UK wage growth held at a level that Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said is fueling inflation, maintaining pressure for higher interest rates.
Average weekly earnings excluding bonuses held at 7.3% in the three months through May after figures for the period through April were revised up, the Office for National Statistics said Tuesday.
“These figures are another dismal reflection of the Tories’ mismanagement of the economy over the last thirteen years.
“Britain is the only G7 country with a lower employment rate than before the pandemic and real wages have fallen yet again – just as more and more families feel the devastating impact of the Tory mortgage bombshell.
Continue reading...Jeremy Hunt and Bank of England’s Andrew Bailey call for wage restraint to help curb inflation
Wages increased at a faster rate than expected in May, putting pressure on the Bank of England to push up the cost of borrowing at its next meeting in August.
Earnings growth hit 7.3%, driven by the strongest rise in private sector pay growth outside the pandemic period of 7.7%, the Office for National Statistics said.
Continue reading...Unemployment rate unexpectedly falls to 3.8% in three months to April, in sign of strength for jobs market
UK wages grew at a faster than expected pace in April, reinforcing expectations the Bank of England will raise interest rates next week.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics show growth in average regular pay, excluding bonuses, strengthened to 7.2% in the three months to April – the highest level on record, excluding the Covid pandemic.
Continue reading...Rishi Sunak wants growth, but ONS figures show rising levels of inactivity because of ill-health
Unwelcome though it is for a government facing strikes by doctors and nurses in the months ahead, the message from the latest labour market figures is clear: Britain is already the sick man of Europe.
More than 2.5 million people who are economically inactive cite long-term sickness as the reason why they are not looking for a job – and the number is rising sharply.
Continue reading...Wage increases in February outstripped by rises in cost of living, as unemployment rate rises
The real value of UK workers’ pay has continued to fall at the fastest rate for more than a decade, as wage increases in February were outstripped by high inflation.
The Office for National Statistics said annual growth in average pay, excluding bonuses, held steady at 6.6% in the three months to February despite a small rise in unemployment and decline in the number of job vacancies.
Continue reading...Squeeze on households as pay growth falls at among fastest rates for 20 years
The number of working days lost to strike action last year reached the highest level since 1989, according to official figures showing that wage growth failed to keep pace with inflation amid the biggest real-terms fall on record.
The figures from the Office for National Statistics further highlight the squeeze on households in the cost of living crisis.
Continue reading...Campaign charity Rest Less says figures illustrate not only a national health issue but an economic one
More than 1.6 million adults aged 50 and over are unable to work because of long-term sickness amid ballooning NHS waiting lists and an exodus from the British workforce since the pandemic, according to the most detailed analysis yet of official data for this age group.
The number has increased 20%, or 270,000 in three years, according to an analysis of Office for National Statistics figures by Rest Less, a digital community and advocate for over fifties.
Continue reading...Loss of employees since Covid raises fears of weaker growth and higher inflation, says Lords report
An exodus of more than half a million people from the British workforce since the Covid pandemic is putting the economy at risk of weaker growth and persistently higher inflation, a Lords report has warned.
The House of Lords economic affairs committee said the sharp rise in economic inactivity – when working-age adults are neither in employment nor looking for a job – since the onset of the health emergency was posing “serious challenges” to the economy.
Continue reading...Large parts of national rail network grind to halt as RMT union members strike for increased pay
There is similar pessimism about the prospects for a deal to prevent later rail strikes from the other side of the table.
Asked if there is a glimmer of hope in the negotiations, Network Rail chief executive Andrew Haines earlier this morning told BBC Breakfast (via PA Media):
It’s hard to see that today. I’ve learned, you know, through a long career, that sometimes the light is just around the corner.
But where I stand today, I’d have to say that with the level of disruption the RMT are imposing, the way forward isn’t obvious.
Well, we hope not. We want to get a deal but at the moment, there is no deal in sight.
So we’ve got the schedule down at the moment, which is running for the next four weeks. We will review that at the end of that if there’s no settlement on the table and we’ll decide what our next steps are, but at the moment there is no settlement to be had.
Continue reading...Inflation and soaring energy bills cause squeeze on living standards, as unemployment rises slightly
Average wages in the UK are falling at the fastest rate for more than a decade as annual pay growth fails to keep pace with the rising cost of living.
The Office for National Statistics said annual growth in regular pay, excluding bonuses, fell by 2.2% in the three months to April after adjusting for its preferred measure of inflation – the biggest fall since November 2011.
Continue reading...Shortage of candidates since January means thousands of vacancies unfilled
UK employers increased the number of new staff in May at the slowest pace since early 2021 after a steep fall in the number of workers responding to job adverts.
After an increase in job switching by workers last year, often to secure higher pay, employers said the shortage of candidates since January meant they were unable to fill thousands of vacancies.
Continue reading...Unemployment rate falls below pre-Covid level but rising prices and energy bills hitswages
Unemployment in the UK has fallen below pre-Covid levels, but high inflation amid Britain’s cost of living crisis means average wages fell at the fastest rate since 2014.
The Office for National Statistics said the unemployment rate fell to 3.9% in the three months to January, dropping below the 4% rate in February 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the UK.
Continue reading...Analysis: Higher prices, taxes and energy costs will bring gloom despite low level of unemployment
Demand for workers is strong as the economy emerges from two years of pandemic-induced disruption. The supply of workers has been reduced by an increase in long-term sickness affecting mainly the over 50 age group.
As a result, there is enough upward pressure on pay to persuade the Bank of England to continue raising interest rates, but the big squeeze on living standards has begun.
Continue reading...