MNI DATA: UK Staff Appointments Weaken in November: REC

--UK November Permanent Placements 55.5 v 57.4 Oct: Markit/REC

By Jai Lakhani

     LONDON (MNI) - Staff appointments shifted down a gear in November, as firms

appeared cautious to hire new staff ahead of seeing final details of future

Brexit arrangements, the Markit/REC Report on Jobs survey released Friday

showed. 

     --FIRMS' HIRING INTENSIFIES 

     Permanent staff placements and temporary staff placements both increased at

a softer rate in November. The effect was more pronounced amongst temporary

hires, which fell three points to 55.3. 

     Permanent hires also moderated, down by 1.9 points to 55.5. This ensured

permanent hires grew at its second-weakest pace since October 2017 and more

notably, temporary billings were at their joint-weakest rate for just over two

years. 

     "Concerns about a no deal Brexit are putting a handbrake on the supply of

candidates as the value of job security and stability shoot up people's personal

agendas," said James Stewart, Vice Chair at KPMG. 

     --VACANCIES REMAIN ELEVATED BUT SOFTEN

     Coupled with slowing hires, the overall rate of vacancy growth was down to

its least marked for just over two years. However, it still remains at

historically elevated levels.

     The job vacancies index slipped 0.2pp to 60.2 in November, driven by a

slight declines across the permanent (down 0.2 points to 60.3) vacancy measure. 

     "However, candidates who are prepared to take a chance and job hop can

often bag a pay rise as a result. This is especially apparent in sectors like

IT, engineering, hospitality and finance where quality candidates now come at a

sizeable premium,"  added Stewart.

     --SALARIES CONTINUE TO RISE 

     Starting salaries continued to increase last month, with the overall

availability of staff continuing to decline sharply. 

     The Permanent salaries index slipped a tenth of a point to 64.2 in

November. However temporary wages soared 3.1 points to 60.8, its strongest since

July 2007.  

     -SKILLS MISTMATCH  

     By sector, IT and computing and engineering again registered the steepest

increases in demand for permanent staff, and was closely followed by

engineering. Marked increases in vacancies were also seen in the eight remaining

categories.

     In terms of temporary staff, all ten sectors noted increased demand, with

blue collar registering the steepest rise, whereas demand for temporary workers

in the Executive/Professional lagged behind the rest in the mid stages of Q4.

     "Today's report backs up what recruiters across the country are saying to

us. High employment rates and a lack of willingness to change employer in this

uncertain climate means fewer people are looking for jobs- despite rising pay

and jobs being available," said Neil Carberry, Chief Executive at the REC. 

     November's report also appears to be giving signs of caution from

employers. "After a long run of strong performance, it seems that employers are

getting more nervous as well. Although permanent and temporary placements

continued to increase, the pace of growth has slowed since earlier in the

Autumn," he added.

--MNI London Bureau; +44 203 865 3828; email: jai.lakhani@marketnews.com

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com

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