Bad news, London jobseekers: Employers to scale back hiring to three-year lows, as Brexit uncertainty surfaces among the capital’s firm
Hiring in London is forecast to slump to a three-year low, as employers in the capital scale back their staffing intentions for the next three months.
The ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey, which quizzed more than 2,100 UK employers and was released today, found employment optimism in the capital had slipped to three per cent, down five percentage points compared with the previous quarter and the lowest it has been since 2014.
By comparison, employment optimism, which measures whether employers intend to take on new workers or slash their workforce over the course of the next quarter, was five per cent across the UK on average.
Read more: Stagnant productivity is the greatest threat to UK living standards, stupid
These new stats will come as a blow for those working in the financial sector, many of whom will be harboured concerns their employer might be shifting jobs away from London to make sure they can still serve EU markets if rights like passporting do not form part of the Brexit deal.
"Brexit uncertainty is beginning to bite for London's employers," said Simon Edwards, operations director at ManpowerGroup. "While we're not seeing signs that businesses are planning to follow UBS and HSBC in moving jobs out of the capital, we certainly expect hiring to slow down over the next three months."
Read more: Revealed: The 20 toughest job interview questions asked by UK employers
Mark Cahill, ManpowerGroup UK managing director, added:
The impending trigger of Article 50 is clearly affecting confidence in the jobs market. The private sector plans to hire at its slowest rate since 2014, with only construction, manufacturing and transport and communications planning to hire at previous levels.
The employment rate is at its highest level since records began in 1971, but if you lift the bonnet to look at the engine of the economy, job creation has slowed and employers are becoming more cautious.
The companies which have powered Britain’s economy through the immediate post-referendum period are easing off the gas.