UK Recruitment Activity Remains Weak In April

(RTTNews) - UK recruitment activity remained weak at the start of the second quarter as demand for staff deteriorated amid the rise in the salary inflation due to the increases in the national minimum and living wage rates, a report compiled by S&P Global showed Monday.

Permanent staff appointments declined further amid reports of weak employer confidence and tighter hiring budgets, the KPMG/REC Report on Jobs survey revealed. However, the pace of reduction was the softest since September. Likewise, temp billings decreased at the slowest pace in four months.

Data showed another strong increase in the number of candidates seeking work in April. The pace of growth softened only slightly from March and marked the second-sharpest since December 2020. Permanent candidate availability grew at a rate sharper than that seen for temporary staff.

Starting salary inflation was solid with the pay growth unchanged from March's seven-month high. Temp wage growth increased the most in 11 months with respondents citing higher national minimum and living wage rates.

Demand for staff weakened in April as seen in each of the last 18 months. The rate of contraction quickened slightly since March. There were sharp falls in both permanent and temporary vacancies.

Recruitment continued to be muted and the number of people looking for jobs increased in April, Group Chief Executive and UK Senior Partner KPMG Jon Holt said.

With businesses facing several pressures due to current global economic uncertainty and rising costs, it is unlikely to lead to a sudden turnaround in the market in the near term, Holt noted.