November’s recruitment data indicates that employers are taking some time to reassess their hiring needs following the late October government budget. There has been a marked slowdown in national hiring activity in November. Although this trend has been well established over recent months, the data from November reveals an acceleration of quiet across the board.
One explanation that recruitment professionals propose is that the scheduled increases to employer national insurance contributions have been significant in the slowdown of hiring activity.
Permanent placements were impacted particularly badly. Last month, candidates placed in permanent roles experienced the steepest reduction in over a year.
In relation, vacancy numbers have also declined for the 13th successive month. And once again, the permanent market was hit most heavily. Indeed, it was the steepest drop in requirements that recruiters have experienced in the last 4 years.
Here is our monthly look at November’s recruitment data.
The Recruitment Landscape – November 2024.
Vacancies.
According to ONS data, the UK has been experiencing a decline in job vacancies for nearly 36 months and this pattern has continued into the last reporting period.
The latest overall vacancy total stands at 831,000; the lowest number since May 2021 and 35,000 fewer jobs than in the three months to July this year.
In November, recruiters reported that total job vacancies fell for the 13th consecutive month. The rate of contraction was the steepest they’d experienced since the height of the first UK lockdown in August 2020.
The steepest rate of decline was within the permanent market, which dropped at the fastest pace in more than 4 years.
Temporary vacancies fell more modestly, but still to the greatest degree since June 2020.
Public vs. private sector.
Both permanent and temporary vacancies declined within the private sector. Once again, permanent vacancy numbers were most affected. In contrast, temporary vacancies experienced only a marginal decline.
Within the public sector, both markets experienced steep drops in vacancy numbers.
Vacancies by sector.
Permanent staff requirements fell across all monitored categories in November and in general, the rate of decline was faster than the previous month. Although broad the drop was felt most keenly by the Professional and Executive sector.
Within the temporary market, roles fell across all the subcategories. Blue Collar and Hospitality were the only categories not to experience a fall. Once again, Executive and Professional and IT & Computing contracts noted the steepest contractions.
Demand for skills.
Where there was a demand for IT and Computing workers, the following skills were identified as being in demand.
- AI Devs – especially LLM developers.
- Cyber Security
- Data Scientists
- Developers – especially Full Stack and Java developers
- Platform Engineers
- IT Infrastructure professionals
- SMT engineers
- QA Automation
These are requirements that we can back up at Ignite Digital too.
We have had some really interesting briefs from clients rolling out Generative AI and LLM tools into their organisations. An early indicator of the progressive projects we can expect more of in 2025.
Placements and billings.
Permanent placements fell broadly again in November continuing a trend that began in October 2022.
The rate of contraction was also steep and was the highest we’ve experienced since August 2023.
Although this was countrywide, the south of England led the drop and was closely followed by the north.
Temporary billings also declined for the 5th consecutive month; however, the rate of contraction was slower than across September and October.
The Midlands region appeared to buck the trend and was the only area to experience a marked rise in contract billings.
Staff availability.
The number of active job seekers increased again in November. Although this has been the case since March 2023, the rate of growth also accelerated from October.
Within the permanent market, the rate of candidate availability growth was the highest in 3 months and lifted for the 21st consecutive month.
Recruiters have attributed this to an increased volume of redundancies and the outsourcing of functions to cheaper markets.
Candidate availability increased across all regions; however, the midlands and the north experienced the strongest growth.
There was also a rise in the number of people looking for temporary or contract work in November. This is a trend that dates back to March 2023.
Although significant, November’s growth wasn’t as steep as that of October which set a near 4-year record. Once again, high contractor numbers were attributed to the lack of contract extensions and a drop in temporary vacancies more broadly.
Pay and salary.
Although we experienced another increase in permanent starting salaries in November, the reduced demand and lack of competition for staff impacted salary growth. Recruiters commented that organisations were willing to pay to secure skilled workers and attract candidates to more senior roles.
The south of England saw the greatest drop in salary, while the Midlands and London recorded solid growth.
Broadly, the hourly and daily rates paid to temporary staff increased for the 2nd consecutive month in November. There was a marginal fall in the Midlands, but otherwise, all regions reported growth.
In sum.
As we come to the end of 2024, we can reflect that this has been a hard year for recruitment in the UK.
Recruiters and job seekers alike must hope that businesses will return to the market next year with greater confidence in the path ahead. The prospect of further interest rate cuts in 2025 partnered with the Government’s investment plans points a hopeful finger toward improved near-term growth. Perhaps this will give businesses the optimism and confidence they need to act and help stabilise the labour market in the coming year.
