Following the close of quarter one, we are seeing three key standouts in the recruitment market at this moment in time as we head into quarter two.
Here, we discuss the key takeaways from quarter one, provide an overview of the current recruitment market and share an insightful outlook from our specialist consultant, Lewis Goody, on what he is seeing so far in quarter two and what he expects to see for the remainder.
Read on to find out what’s going on in the market.
Key Takeaways for Q1
Permanent placements continue to fall, but at slower rate from April-June
Candidate availability growth hits five-month high in May
Permanent pay rises fastest in eight months during June
Recruitment Market Overview of Q1
There was a further decline in the number of permanent placements during Q1, which have continued to fall in each month since October 2022. However, the rate of decline was noticeably slower, easing to its weakest since June 2023.
Temporary placements also fell at the slowest rate in 3 months during April, however received a marginal rise in June for the first time since October 2023.
In an attempt to attract suitable candidates and a recognition of the ongoing cost of living crisis, pay rates increased during April and continued to do so in May and June, with the fastest rate of increase in eight months seen during the latter.
Candidate availability amongst temporary and permanent staff rose during Q1, reflecting a higher number of redundancies, slow decision-making amongst clients and a lower number of job openings according to recruiters.
Q2 Recruitment Market Outlook
Lewis Goody, Senior Recruitment Consultant
With quarter two already underway, I have seen a few trends worth noting. A continuing trend from quarter one sees more candidates currently in the market and greater competition per vacancy. The additional flux of candidates is seemingly due to redundancies across multiple industries. The news of a general election earlier in the year created some uncertainty in the market. It will be interesting to see how this develops now that the political picture is beginning to stabilise.
After a slow start in the recruitment industry during quarter one, there is strong hope based on requirement data that the market is going to pick up, though it's likely to be after the summer months when we see real movement.
To combat a competitive market, businesses have begun increasing salaries which is backed up by the data from quarter one. The three most common reasons I’ve found as to why candidates are enquiring about new opportunities are financial, flexibility, and redundancy. Development opportunities are still of strong importance; however, I don’t find this to necessarily be a driver in moves. It’s more of an add-on when selecting the right company. Perhaps with inflation steadying, we might see more risk-adverse candidates enter the market.
I’m looking forward to seeing what exciting opportunities and challenges await the remainder of quarter two.
Information sourced from the KPMG and REC UK Report on Jobs survey, compiled by S&P Global, for April, May, and June. The reports are compiled by S&P Global from responses to questionnaires sent to a panel of around 400 UK recruitment and employment consultancies.
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