Key points:
- Permanent appointments up for fourth consecutive month
- Temp billings rise for sixth month running
- Job vacancies increase at sharpest rate since April 2011
- Permanent salary growth quickens to 16-month high
- Temp pay falls fractionally
Summary:
The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG Report on Jobs – published today – provides the most comprehensive guide to the UK labour market, drawing on original survey data provided by recruitment consultancies.
Solid expansion of staff appointments...
Recruitment consultants indicated a rise in permanent staff placements for the fourth month running during January. Growth held steady from December’s solid rate. Temp billings meanwhile increased for the sixth month in succession, with the pace of expansion quickening slightly in the latest survey period.
...underpinned by further growth of job vacancies
Demand for staff continued to increase at the start of 2013. The rate of growth in permanent vacancies quickened to a 21-month high, but temp vacancies rose at a slightly slower pace than in December.
Permanent salary growth quickens...
Average starting salaries for people placed in permanent jobs continued to increase in January. Although still moderate, the rate of inflation was at a 16-month high. Contributing to the rise in salaries was a deterioration in the availability of permanent staff, albeit only slight.
...but temp pay falls fractionally
Hourly rates of pay for staff in temporary/contract employment decreased for the first time in five months during January. That said, the fall was only fractional. Short-term staff availability meanwhile rose moderately.
Regional and sector variation
The North saw the fastest growth of permanent placements in January, followed by the Midlands. London and the South posted modest increases.
All four English regions posted growth of temp billings during January, albeit at varying rates. The strongest expansion was signalled in the North, whereas Midlands-based agencies saw only a marginal increase.
Private sector demand for permanent employees rose at a strong rate in January, with growth picking up to a ten-month high. However, private sector demand for temporary staff dipped slightly for the first time in a year.
In the public sector, demand fell for both permanent and temporary staff in January, with the former recording the sharper decline.
Engineering/Construction and IT & Computing were the most in-demand categories of permanent staff during January. A strong rate of expansion was also signalled for staff in the Nursing/Medical/Care sector. The weakest growth was recorded for Hotel & Catering workers.
Nursing/Medical/Care was the most sought-after type of short-term staff during the latest survey period, and by some distance. Engineering/ Construction and Accounting/Financial workers also saw robust improvements in demand for their services. The only category where a fall was signalled was Executive/Professional, albeit this was only slight.
Comments:
Bernard Brown, Partner and Head of Business Services at KPMG, comments: “Amid the doom and gloom caused by predictions of slow growth, the hiring figures for January should give employers and employees plenty of reasons to be cheerful.
“Demand for staff is at its highest peak for almost two years meaning that employees who may have been too nervous to change jobs in recent months, might consider the benefits of a fresh challenge. Given the skills gaps that continue to plague many sectors, increased availability of qualified and experienced staff could help fill the capability gap many employers have wanted to plug for some time. Staff may also have more room for manoeuvre, as the data indicates starting salaries rose again in January, seeing their sharpest climb since September. We are by no means at a stage where the candidate is king, but perhaps they are moving closer to the throne. It’s also clear that private sector permanent positions are coming to the fore, with growth at a 10-month high. The hope must be that this is a trend that continues. If it does, predictions of further doom and gloom may yet prove to be extreme.”
REC director of policy and professional services Tom Hadley said: “The war for talent has begun. January saw the sharpest rise in starting salaries in well over a year after a nine-month trend of increases. The rise is caused by continued growth in permanent vacancies paired with a reduction in candidate availability. This is good news for workers but also highlights the need to address the current 'skills disconnect' which presents a major barrier to growth in key sectors of our economy. Skills shortages in whole sectors like engineering and IT and for particular roles like chefs, drivers and sales is spurring competition for qualified staff. Employers are realising that to secure the talent they need they have to offer more attractive salaries.”
Full reports and historical data from the Report on Jobs are available by subscription. Please contact economics@markit.com.
Ends
For further information, please contact:
KPMG
Mike Petrook
020 7311 5271 (t), 07917 384 576 (m) or mike.petrook@kpmg.co.uk
Markit Economics (technical/data queries):
Jack Kennedy, Senior Economist, Telephone 01491 461087 / jack.kennedy@markit.com
Note to Editors:
The Report on Jobs is a monthly publication produced by Markit on behalf of the Recruitment & Employment Confederation and KPMG. The report features original survey data which provide the most up-to-date and comprehensive monthly picture of recruitment, employment and employee earnings trends available.
The Report features original research data from Markit, collected via questionnaire from a panel of 400 UK recruitment and employment consultancies. In 2010/11, some 1,049,333 people were employed in either temporary or contract work through consultancies and 604,193 people were placed in permanent positions through consultancies. Data for the monthly survey were first collected in October 1997 and are collected at the end of each month, with respondents asked to specify the direction of change in a number of survey variables.
All Index numbers are calculated from the percentages of respondents reporting an improvement, no change or decline. These indices vary between 0 and 100 with reading of exactly 50.0 signalling no change on the previous month. Readings above 50 signal an increase or improvement; readings below 50 signal a decline or deterioration. Reasons given by survey respondents for any changes are analysed to provide insight into the causes of movements in the indices and are also used to adjust for expected seasonal variations.
Markit do not revise underlying survey data after first publication, but seasonal adjustment factors may be revised from time to time as appropriate which will affect the seasonally adjusted data series. Historical data relating to the underlying (unadjusted) numbers, first published seasonally adjusted series and subsequently revised data are available to subscribers from Markit. Please contact economics@markit.com.
A regional Report on Jobs series is now available comprising four regional reports tracking labour market trends across the Midlands, the North of England, the South of England and London. The reports are designed to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date guide to labour market trends and the data are directly comparable with the UK Report on Jobs.
About KPMG
KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership, is a subsidiary of KPMG Europe LLP and operates from 22 offices across the UK with over 12,000 partners and staff. The UK firm recorded a turnover of £1.8 billion in the year ended September 2012. KPMG is a global network of professional firms providing Audit, Tax, and Advisory services. We operate in 156 countries and have 152,000 professionals working in member firms around the world. The independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"), a Swiss entity. KPMG International provides no client services.
About Recruitment and Employment Confederation
15 Welbeck Street, London, W1G 9XT. Tel: 020 7009 2100. Fax: 0207 935 4112 Website: www.rec.uk.com
The REC is the professional body representing the UK’s £24.6 billion private recruitment and staffing industry with more than 8,000 recruitment agencies and 6,000 recruitment consultants in membership. There are more than 1 million temporary workers registered with UK agencies who are deployed in industry, commerce and the public services every day.
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