November Report on Jobs 2024

• Higher payroll expenses reported in some cases to have weighed on recruitment decisions
• Pay growth remains modest in November
• Demand for staff declines to the greatest degree in over four years

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The November 2024 KPMG & REC UK Report on Jobs is now out.

The latest KPMG & REC UK REPORT ON JOBS has been published featuring survey results from responses to questionnaires sent to a panel of around 400 UK recruitment and employment consultancies.

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Commenting on the latest survey results, Jon Holt, Group Chief Executive and UK Senior Partner KPMG, said:

“Businesses are having to weigh up the prospect of increasing employee costs following the Budget, which has led to an accelerated slowdown in hiring activity across the board. While the data was already heading in that direction, permanent placements saw their steepest reductions in over a year last month, and temporary roles also saw a fifth consecutive decline.

“This slowdown, alongside a growing availability of candidates in the market could put more downward pressure on wage inflation, which remained largely unchanged on last month’s 44-month low. This trend will be encouraging for the Bank’s monetary policy committee ahead of the next meeting later this month, although it may not be enough to counter wider inflationary pressures we are seeing in the economy.

“However, the prospect of further rate cuts through 2025, alongside the Government’s investment plans, both point to improved growth in the near term. This should give businesses greater confidence which may help stabilise the labour market.”

Commenting, Neil Carberry, REC Chief Executive, said:

“It should be a surprise to no-one that firms took the time to re-assess their hiring needs in November after a tough Budget for employers. The drop in vacancies was led by private sector permanent roles, and slower permanent recruitment billings across the month also reflected this trend. The real question now is whether businesses will return to the market as they go into next year with greater certainty about the path ahead. The resilience of temporary recruitment offers some hope – private sector temporary hiring activity was almost flat across the country, by comparison with the drop in permanent hiring, and there was growth in some regions. Firms are likely to rest more on temps while they manage the current uncertainty, and that only serves to emphasise again the value of flexible forms of work to companies and people who need to find work quickly after redundancy. For policymakers, ensuring new regulations support rather than weaken our flexible jobs market is vital – especially after the Budget. Ensuring rules introduced by the Employment Rights Bill are tailored to protect agency and temporary work really matters for people.”

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Key findings:

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