Posted on 15/12/2017 by
The REC Report on Jobs provides a comprehensive guide to the UK labour market. The latest report on jobs highlights permanent placements increasing at the quickest rate in recent months during November.
Key points being:
- Permanent placements and temporary billings both rise at stronger rates
- Availability of candidates continues to decline sharply
- Robust demand for staff leads to further marked increases in pay
Permanent Placements
During the month of November, permanent placements increased at the quickest rate since August. This is supported by the fact the unemployment rate continues to decline below the 42-year record set in October at 4.3%. As a result, business confidence continues to remain strong within the labour market. Temporary placements continued to increase from October, but at a softer pace compared to the previous month.
Demand for Staff
The demand for staff continues to rise sharply, however this growth was slightly reduced when comparing to October. Furthermore, staff vacancies rose sharply for both permanent and temporary placements during November. Therefore, candidate availability witnessed a further steep decline but at its weakest rate for 7 months. Temporary candidate availability declined at a quicker rate compared to October. As a consequence, there continues to be a shortage of people not available for current job vacancies which has meant businesses are paying a significantly higher starting wage which continues to rise sharply. This is because business are attempting to attract the right candidates for their job vacancies from an ever-shortening pool of candidates. This is also the case for temporary billings, as starting wages continued to rise at a marked pace. This is great news for jobseekers due to the clear opportunities presented in earning more money in by moving jobs.
Accounting and Finance within the Midlands
The Midlands registered the biggest increase in permanent placements for November. In addition to this, temporary placements remained broad-based across the region. This is important because accounting and finance was at the top of the rankings for staff vacancies as well as for the demand of staff. This proves that businesses are finding it difficult to fill vacancies with candidate availability continuing to decline, so as a result businesses are continuing to recruit from within a deteriorating pool of candidates so they can still provide the potential to grow as a firm.
In summary, the report suggests that there remains a great opportunity for candidates looking to move jobs in the current UK labour market and on the other hand, employers face continuing challenges as candidate supply can’t meet the demand. The report also suggests that recruiters are placing more people into jobs than ever before.
Employers are increasingly turning to specialist recruiter Addington Ball to enhance their options, as Addington Ball has an established and highly developed network of financial professionals operating in the Midlands region. If your business is not getting the appropriate calibre of candidate, then call Addington Ball on 01926 290290 for a confidential conversation about your requirements.
Addington Ball is a leading finance recruiter based in the Midlands specialising in the recruitment of finance and accountancy professionals. If you are considering a change of scenery or a fresh challenge, search for your next opportunity via our job search page.