A rise in demand for workers following the first lockdown saw a second successive monthly increase in permanent staff appointments during October however the rate of growth has slowed down. We have also seen a rise in short term workers appointments as the growth period extends to a four month high.
Recruitment agencies across the North reported an overall increase in the number of candidate’s looking for work – experts attribute this to the large number of redundancies from the pandemic.
There are skill shortages in a number of sectors accounting/finance, engineering, legal/professional and IT. In terms of temporary supply, there is a particular high demand for skills in the industrial, sales and construction sectors – all of which have prospered the midst of the pandemic.
Salaries for permanent workers in the North of England continue to fall, however this month has seen the softest rate of reduction in the seven month sequence of decline. Temporary wages saw a slight decline following a bounce during September for the first time in seven months.
Across the UK it has been reported that there has been over 314,000 job losses since the start of the first lockdown and the worrying trend of redundancies looks set to continue as companies struggle to cope with issues like disruption in the workplace, loss of business and lack of cash flow.
Euan West, senior partner for KPMG in Leeds, said: “With the growth in permanent staff recruitment starting to soften, and a big increase in people available for work, the impending lockdown puts our regional jobs marketing in a precarious position.
“The Government needs to ensure it offers enough financial support to the region’s businesses and opportunities for jobseekers to upskill as we continue to navigate through this crisis.”
There is some good news however – the government has decided extend the furlough scheme until March 2021 which will be welcomed with open arms by many businesses and also there is a possible vaccine in the pipeline which is sure to boost economic confidence.
Statistics taken from KPMG & REC, UK Report on Jobs: North of England – November 2020
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