The employment market has been everything but stable these past three years and the Summer of 2023 has been no exception, it does however seem that a transition is taking place which may benefit some employers.
As we predicted in January; businesses now carrying large debts as a result of the pandemic, which are unable to secure further investment are making people redundant.
The spike in graduate salaries seems to have peaked, particularly for more general degree qualifications, which don’t bring an immediate contribution to an employer.
Growth in demand for new vacancies has increased at its slowest pace since the post-pandemic recovery started in March 2021.
All this said, competition for highly skilled candidates remains extremely high, with salaries (and counter-offers to retain key people) continuing to run at rates well above inflation and overall earnings growth across the private sector running at 7.1%.
How to capitalise on this apparent shift in the market:
There are still far fewer skilled people than vacancies and well before the pandemic there was a war for talent. Seize the opportunity to attract talented people whilst less long-term focussed competitors freeze recruitment or even make redundancies.
Beware of USA owned competitors, the USA economy is growing at 5.5% this year and there are many USA owned businesses operating in the UK with a more bullish approach to global recruitment.
Don’t become complacent, maintain staff engagement and keep pace with market rates for salary and benefits packages with existing staff.
Avoid disappointment when recruiting: Before the pandemic, resigning employees were being offered circa 20% pay rises to remain in post, this recently rose to 40% and whilst it is likely to deflate, the 20% base level was set in times of similar economic expectation, making a worthwhile offer to attract your candidate of choice is therefore still very much here to stay.
Keep recruiting: Those businesses with the best talent don’t treat recruitment as a one-off event, they are continuously recruiting and upgrading their skills.
Buy in interim and temporary support to stress test your resourcing requirements. With the potential to recruit additional talent this is a good way to build your skills base quickly without making long term commitments where you don’t have clear visibility.
In addition to providing you with these real-world insights, since 1996 we have been a trusted partner in the recruitment of people who make a real difference.
If you now want to make a difference to your business, contact us to discuss finding, selecting and attracting the best people: email us at customers@europrojects.co.uk or call 01530 833825 for an initial discussion.