The report found that permanent placements have fallen, while temp billings expanded modestly.
Despite candidate supply moving closer to stabilisation, dropping at the softest pace since April 2021, it continued to fall at a historically strong rate overall. Competition for scarce workers and the rising cost of living continued to push up starting salaries and temp wages in November.
Latest survey data indicated that candidate shortages and uncertainty around the economic outlook dampened recruitment during November. Permanent placements fell for the second successive month while temp billings rose modestly.
Overall demand for workers expanded at the softest rate since February 2021 during November. While temporary vacancies continued to expand more sharply than that seen for permanent roles, in both cases, the increases were the slowest seen for 21 months and below their respective long-run trends.
Although pay pressures remained historically elevated during November, the latest survey indicated that rates of inflation for both starting salaries and temp wages eased further. The latest increase in permanent starters’ pay was the least marked since April 2021, while temp pay growth moderated to an 18-month low.
The overall availability of workers continued to deteriorate during November, and at a steeper pace than seen on average since the survey began 25 years ago. Tight labour market conditions, fewer foreign workers, and a greater hesitancy among people to take up new roles due to increased economic uncertainty all dampened candidate numbers, according to recruiters. However, the latest fall was the weakest recorded for just over a year-and-a-half amid softer declines in both permanent and temporary staff supply.
The steepest increase in demand for staff was signalled for temporary workers in the private sector. In contrast, temporary vacancies in the public sector fell for the first time since December 2020. Growth of demand for permanent workers meanwhile moderated across both the private and public sectors but remained strong overall.
Eight of the 10 broad job categories registered increased demand for permanent staff during November, led by nursing/medical/care. Vacancies were meanwhile broadly unchanged in construction, while IT & computing noted a slight reduction.Â
