Daily News
View All NewsUK – January sees surge in permanent placements
January 2016 saw growth in new-year job hunters in the UK as applications rose, with 25.5% of recruiters reporting better candidate availability, up from 6.9% in December 2015, according to the latest Markit/REC (Recruitment and Employment Confederation) Report on Jobs. Permanent placements also saw a rise during January.
The report shows that January saw an increase in vacancies, with the pace of expansion picking up to a five-month high. The Report on Jobs Index climbed to 62.3 in January 2016 compared to 62.0 in December 2015.
Meanwhile, demand for permanent staff continued to rise at a faster pace than that of short-term workers. The number of people in permanent jobs increased for the 40th consecutive month in January.
“The jobs market has started 2016 with a bang – our latest data shows strong growth in demand for staff and in permanent placements,” REC chief executive Kevin Green said. “Professional service jobs are among those leading the way, with marketing and commercial roles especially in demand as businesses seek to make the most of the good economic climate.”
January also showed a further rise in starting salaries, the rate of growth was the slowest in 27 months. The data showed that the higher salaries were due to competition for scarce qualified staff.
Meanwhile, hourly rates of pay for staff in temporary/contract employment continued to rise, which was attributed to skills shortages. However, this rate of growth was the slowest since October 2013.
The availability of staff for both permanent and temporary/contract roles continued to decline in January. Rates of contraction remained marked, despite easing to the slowest for 12 and three months respectively.
Workers in the nursing, care and medical sector were the most in-demand during January with home carers and nurses in short supply. The fastest growth for temporary and contract workers was in the blue-collar sector.
“It’s not all good news,” Green said. “Organisations in sectors such as construction and manufacturing are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit due to entrenched skill shortages. The healthcare sector is also a source of concern. A severe shortage of nurses is being exacerbated by the government cutting pay for temporary doctors and nurses. We believe that patient safety may be compromised as some NHS trusts struggle to staff wards. The other factor which may create uncertainty in the jobs market is the EU referendum, which now looks likely to happen in June.”
Regionally, the Midlands posted the fastest rise in placements during January, closely followed by the North. London saw the slowest growth.
All four monitored English regions saw higher short-term staff billings in the latest survey period, with the Midlands posting comfortably the strongest rate of expansion.
Demand for staff remained stronger in the private sector than the public sector during January. The strongest overall increase was signalled for private sector permanent workers. Public sector permanent staff saw only a marginal rise in vacancies, although this was an improvement on the falls seen in the final two months of 2015.