LONDON: Hiring at British businesses is holding steady, ending a downturn stretching back to the Liz Truss crisis in 2022, according to a closely watched survey.
The Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG hailed the improvement as a major “milestone” after 45 months of contraction since the market-crashing budget that cost the-then prime minister her job.
Many employers pressed ahead with new projects last month despite uncertainty over the outlook, temporary vacancies rose for the first time in two years and pay growth ticked up, the report published yesterday found.
Meanwhile, demand for full-time workers declined at a slower pace.
It capped the longest downturn in permanent staff placements since records began in 1997. Firms appear to be moving past a period marked by increases in employment costs, political upheaval at home, US trade disputes and the shock inflicted by the Iran war.
“Rays of light are beginning to break through for the job market,” said Maxine Bligh, chief membership and innovation officer at the REC.
Callum Licence, group head of advisory, KPMG United Kingdom and Switzerland, said “across the board we are starting to see the data moving in the right direction”.
The figures are an early gift for Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
Last month, he pledged to tackle youth unemployment and deliver economic growth to every part of the country.
Bank of England officials are looking to the labour market for signs of second-round effects from the Iran energy shock.
So far, pay growth has remained muted although pressures may only start to show up later this year.
The REC survey showed wage growth accelerating to a six-month high.
The pace, however, remained below the long-run trend as redundancies and a lack of job opportunities fuelled an increase in jobseekers. — Bloomberg
