UK Labour Market Stands In Good Ground over the Summer Months

Despite uncertainty on how the UK’s job market would favour over the summer months, especially post-EU referendum, CV-Library’s latest Q3 data reveals that the Brexit backlash is yet to hit, as salaries continued to rise, job growth was strong, and candidate appetite was in full force, when comparing year on year data.

The report, which analysed data from July, August and September 2016, revealed that job growth has spiked by 8.1% year on year and 4.6% on the previous quarter. Furthermore, key UK cities and industries saw above average hikes, as outlined below:

But while the overall report does present positive findings, some sectors did see a drop in vacancies in Q3. No stranger to difficulties within the sector, the retail industry saw job creation fall by 10.2%; most likely as a result of a drop in sales post-Brexit due to customer caution. Similarly, public sector roles dropped by 9.1% during this period, which could be attributed to ongoing issues across the industry.

Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library comments on the figures: “Our findings are certainly a positive indication that the UK’s labour market did not fall victim to the typical ‘summer slowdown’ this year, especially given that there is still a great amount of uncertainty around the impact of the Brexit vote on UK jobs. It’s great to see that certain cities and sectors are thriving and while our impending exit from the EU has already started to affect some industries, these declines do not come as too much of a surprise.”

According to the data, applications were also up by 2.6% last quarter, and while this is a positive increase, it does indicate that candidate appetite is not necessarily meeting business demand. That said, salary increases in July (3%), August (4.7%) and September (2%), do suggest that businesses across the country are pushing hard to attract top talent, with nationwide salaries rising by 3.3% year-on-year. In fact, this figure is well above the national inflation rate, and is a positive indication that business confidence is high and the UK is standing strong in the face of ongoing economic uncertainty.

Biggins concludes, “While all eyes of late have been firmly focused on the UK’s economy as a result of the Brexit vote and a weakened currency, our findings do paint a positive picture. It is still unknown exactly how the UK’s labour market will be affected by these changes; but with formal negotiations around the UK’s intention to leave the EU not taking place until the early part of next year, it’s important that we sit tight and focus on the fact that the current job market is still performing well, and that organisations are continuing to invest in their current and future workforces.”