Yahoo Finance Rise in UK job candidates amid improving pay offers
The overall supply of candidates for jobs has increased for the first time in more than two years as job seekers returned to the market amid better pay offers.
The Recruitment and Employment Confederation/KPMG also said increases in starting salaries for permanent staff were the second-weakest in nearly two years, but remained high in historical terms.
While the rise in the availability of workers in March was "modest", it marks the first such upturn in the UK since February 2021, the survey said.
REC's monthly permanent placements index came in at 49.3 last month, the slowest fall since last September but still below the 50.0 no change level.
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The loosening labour market was partly down to a rise in the number of redundancies, the report said, as companies opted for temporary hires over new permanent roles.
Billings for temporary workers, which often increase when employers are cautious about the outlook, rose at the fastest pace in six months.
The report added that starting salaries for temp roles eased moderately to a three-month low.
Neil Carberry, chief executive of NEC, said: “The big news is that candidate availability is up for the first time in more than two years. This suggests that, while the market is still tight, it should be getting gradually easier for firms to hire over the next few months. “
“The continuing fast rate of pay growth is likely reflective of the impact of inflation on wage offers, as well as low labour supply. That means increasing pay is likely to persist, despite more people beginning to look for work.”
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Improving pay offers were encouraging people to return to the job market.
Carberry added that it was "still a good time to be looking for work", particularly in hospitality, healthcare, accountancy and financial roles.
Claire Warnes, a partner at KPMG, described March as being a "curate's egg" for jobs.
"While the labour market continues to show resilience, it is nowhere near pre-pandemic levels of stability," she said.
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