Glencourt Associates is one of the recruitment companies selected to provide data for the monthly KPMG & REC “Report on Jobs”.
May sees weaker decline in placements
There were reports that slow decision-making by companies and specific candidate shortages were contributory factors to a further decline in permanent placement during May.
However, the latest decline was modest and the slowest since March 2023. A similar trend was seen for temp billings, with the latest contraction the weakest in four months.
Further uplift in pay rates
Amid reports of a competitive market landscape, alongside evidence of a ripple impact on base pay rates following April’s increases in the national minimum and living wages, typical starting pay for candidates rose again during May. For permanent workers, salaries were reported to have increased markedly and to only a slightly lesser extent than April’s four-month high. Temp staff saw a similar trend, with pay rising at only a slightly slower pace than in the previous month.
Staff vacancies down only slightly
Although demand for staff fell again in May, it did so only marginally and to the lowest degree in this recent monthly sequence. Moreover, the latest fall was exclusively led by permanent workers as temp staff demand was unchanged in the latest survey period.
Staff availability rises to greatest degree since end of 2020
May’s survey revealed another steep increase in staff availability. The rate of growth was the steepest recorded by the survey since December 2020. The faster expansion in the number of people looking for work was seen for permanent job roles. Panellists noted that a mixture of redundancies, higher unemployment and reduced demand for staff led to the broad rise in candidate availability.
For more detailed insights and a more in-depth report, please contact Glencourt Associates.
Source: KPMG & REC “Report on Jobs” prepared by S&P Global.
