Jobs market saw March boost ahead of ‘Awful April’
Job postings steadily increased in March in signs that employers have built some resilience ahead of tax hikes and sweeping cost rises in what has been labelled ’Awful April’.
Active job postings grew by 3.3 per cent compared to the month before as London saw the second highest increase across the country, according to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).
The figures provide “glimmers of hope” for employers, REC chief executive Neil Carberry said, as firms prepare for higher costs kicking into effect in April.
“There’s no denying it feels tough to employ people as the cost of taking workers on rises, but businesses are resilient, and they continue to create opportunities,” Carberry said.
“The labour market is stabilising and February’s economic growth figures offered cautious optimism, while the UK looks relatively well-placed to weather some of the external shocks from shifting global trade policy.”
Among the set of cost hikes which came into effect earlier this month was a sharp rise in employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs), which firms said would cause a slowdown in hiring and likely more layoffs.
The rate of tax increased to 15 per cent while the threshold at which employers start paying NICs was lowered from £9,100 to £5,000. Firms are already warning of the hard impacts of the tax as Mitie Group said NICs could inflate costs by £50m.
Energy and water bills also rose sharply while the national minimum wage also raised from £11.44 to £12.21 per hour for adults.
The number of active job postings in March exceeded 1.5m, REC said, but the levels were lower than that seen in previous years.
Areas that saw the biggest rise in job postings included biological science and manufacturing directors.
Finance and accounting only saw a slim 1.6 per cent rise in the number of vacancies compared to the month before, research by REC and Lightcast revealed.
Carberry said that employer confidence was “fragile” on the whole, with the prospect of tariffs on exports to the US in three months unlikely to ease concerns.
He called on the government to respond to business concerns about the Employment Rights Bill, which has received damning criticism from the Regulatory Policy Committee, and introduce a credible industrial strategy in the summer.
“Investment will stay stuck in neutral if all that is offered is warm words,” Carberry said.
“Competitiveness matters to business, and the ability of the private sector to drive the growth that will solve the government’s fiscal headache,” he added.