Permanent Placements Rise at Slowest Rate in Recent Years
Permanent placements continued to grow in September, but at the slowest rate in two and a half years, this was also seen in temporary and contract hires, which grew at their weakest pace for 29 months.
Starting salaries for permanent jobs continued to increase in September, although it eased to a 20 month low, but the growth remained strong – at the same time, staff availability for permanent roles fell further, as did the availability of temporary and contract staff.
Talent shortages are making it increasingly difficult for employers to find quality candidates. We are already seeing quite a bit skill shortage across the economy, including engineering and IT, to teaching and care, to hospitality, construction and driving. It is particularly concerning to see shortages in professional service roles like marketing, management and sales. This indicates that businesses want to grow and take advantage of the good economic climate, but are struggling to do so because the talent isn’t available.
The planned introduction of the National Living Wage is causing businesses to consider alternatives to hiring more staff and this could lead to greater automation in some sectors. This might have a positive impact on UK productivity, but it could also slow down employment growth.
Salaries are growing rapidly as employers compete for talent – this will also have a great impact on the amount of jobs businesses can create. Therefore, it is essential that the government recognises these issues. We need to alter our focus on skills and progression to create a better supply of talented candidates in the long term.
However, it is a very different story in the public sector – with the demand for staff declining and pay increases falling to just 1%. With further cuts planned, a substantial investment in training and development to help its staff take on new and evolving remits need to be put in place.
Source: ri5.co.uk and recruitmentgrapevine.com
