As we are heading toward the year’s end, we have prepared one last labour market report for our readers. This year has been a challenging one, with candidate shortages, the cost of living crisis, increased inflation and other economic factors that have affected the recruitment industry overall.
As a smaller sized organization, we have faced challenges on some levels, particularly with candidate shortages, however our amazing team rose to the challenge brilliantly. Our team have proven one more time that great achievements can be made with hard work and dedication. 2022 was a challenging but amazing year for Team Impact and we are looking forward to a successful 2023.
The UK employment rate increased by 0.2 percentage points quarter on quarter to 75.6% but remains below pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic levels. Employees increased in the most recent three-month period, while self-employed workers decreased.
The unemployment rate increased by 0.1 percentage point from August to October 2022, reaching 3.7%. The number of people unemployed for up to six months increased in the most recent three-month period, and this increase was seen across all age groups.
The rate of economic inactivity fell by 0.2 percentage points quarter on quarter to 21.5% from August to October 2022. In terms of economic inactivity by reason, the quarterly decrease was driven by those who were inactive due to retirement.
The estimated number of vacancies fell by 65,000 from September to November 2022, to 1,187,000. Despite a five-quarter decline, the number of vacancies remains at historically high levels. The decrease in the number of vacancies reflects industry uncertainty, as respondents continue to cite economic pressures as a factor in delaying recruitment.
Employees’ average total pay (including bonuses) and regular pay (excluding bonuses) grew at the same rate of 6.1% from August to October 2022; for regular pay, this is the fastest growth rate seen outside of the coronavirus pandemic period.
Average regular pay growth for the private sector was 6.9% in August to October 2022, and 2.7% for the public sector; outside of the height of the pandemic period, this is the largest growth rate seen for the private sector and is among the largest differences between the private sector and public sector growth rates we have seen.
Over the year, total and regular pay both fell by 2.7% in real terms (adjusted for inflation); this is slightly less than the record fall in real regular pay we saw from April to June 2022 (3.0%), but it remains among the largest falls in growth since comparable records began in 2001.
In October 2022, there were 417,000 working days lost due to labour disputes, the most since November 2011.
If you are an employer struggling with staff shortages, we are here to help. Please send us an email at info@impactrecruitment.co.uk or give us a call on 01604 239555 to find out how we can help.
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