Chairman of Reed Recruitment issued the UK’s next Prime Minister a warning that the UK’s job market was heading for a recession, citing data from reed.co.uk's Job Index.

The data reveals a slowdown in the UK labour market as political and economic uncertainty continues on. The number of advertised vacancies fell by 2.3% in Q2 2019, compared to the same quarter last year. This is the largest percentage drop on Reed.co.uk since 2010.  

James Reed, Chairman of Reed, commented, “Worrying storm clouds are forming around the UK’s job market. The largest fall in jobs since 2010 on the Reed website is a clear sign that the canary has fallen off its perch and that we are heading for a recession. The next Prime Minister will come to captain an economy with fewer job opportunities amid a national economic slowdown.”

Reed’s data found that the hospitality and catering sector saw the steepest annual decline, with new job vacancies 24% down compared to Q2 2018, followed by education which saw a 10% drop.

On the other hand, the health and social care sector saw the largest growth in jobs advertised, surging 29% year-on-year. Reed says this was driven by an ageing population and increasing demand for skilled workers The second-largest uptick was in information technology, which saw a 6% annual increase as the digital revolution gathers pace.

Among the regions with the biggest year-on-year growth were Northern Ireland (+31%), Scotland (+11.2%) and Wales (+3%). Meanwhile, East Anglia (-8.7%) and West Midlands (-8.7%) saw the largest fall in available vacancies compared with Q2 last year.