Report on jobs | Demand for staff falls off after Labour budget

Demand for UK employees fell last month after the new Labour government's first budget, a new survey revealed.

The KPMG and REC, UK Report on Jobs survey, compiled by S&P Global, signalled a further deterioration of UK labour market conditions during November. Permanent placements continued to decline, and at the steepest pace since August 2023 as firms signalled reduced demand for staff. 

In many cases, recruitment consultants reported that firms were reassessing staffing needs and putting a pause on recruitment activity as they considered the impact on business performance of the late October government Budget.

Permanent salary growth remained modest as a result and was little changed on October's 44-month low. Demand for staff also declined at the fastest since August 2020, whilst overall staff availability continued to rise amid reports of increased redundancies.