Staff and Contract hiring continues to rise in August

The August jobs survey by Markit, has reported that demand for staff particularly Permanent staff continued to rise in August.

Key points from the August survey:
* Increased demand for permanent and contract staff
* Demand for permanent staff increases at fastest rate since April 2015
* Candidate availability declines at quicker pace, pushing pay rates higher

Kevin Green, REC Chief Executive commented:

“As this month’s report clearly shows, employers are increasingly turning to recruitment agencies as it becomes harder to find the people to fill the jobs available. There are two trends at play. Businesses are seeking more professional and managerial capability, so we’re seeing high demand for roles like financial directors, analysts, and compliance and HR professionals. Meanwhile, there is a significant shortage of people to fill blue collar roles such as drivers, electricians, and construction workers, and this is being exacerbated by a fall in net migration from the EU.

“In many areas of the jobs market candidate supply cannot meet demand. Employers are having to offer more money to secure the people with the skills they need. While the working population in general has experienced a pay squeeze, there are clearly opportunities now to earn more by moving jobs.

“This is good news for individuals, but businesses will be concerned about the sustainability of this trend. Businesses can only grow if they have access to the people and skills they need. It is essential that the government recognises this by developing an evidence-based immigration system that will support the economy.”

The main findings of the August report were:

Staff hiring continued to rise sharply in August; with, the rate of growth easing only slightly from July’s recent record. Temp hiring also rose markedly, with the rate of expansion unchanged from July’s 29-month high.

Permanent vacancies rose at the quickest rate for 28 months with the overall growth of demand for permanent staff reaching its highest level since April 2015.

These increases were amid a further drop in candidate availability. The survey indicated that the availability of candidates to fulfil permanent job roles continued to decline sharply in August, with the rate of deterioration slightly quicker than seen in July. Meanwhile the availability of Temporary/contract staff fell to the greatest extent in 20 months.

The above demand is now resulting in pay growth with starting salaries for permanent staff accelerating for the fourth month running in August. This notably; was the quickest rate of pay inflation seen since October 2015. Temp rates also increased at a faster pace, rising at the steepest rate for 16 months in August.

Acknowledgements:
The Report on Jobs is a monthly publication produced by Markit and sponsored by the REC (Recruitment and Employment Confederation) and KPMG LLP.