Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Economics, government & businessLatest NewsBonusesJob creation and lossesLabour market

Labour market ‘losing momentum’ as unemployment hits record low

by Ashleigh Webber 13 Sep 2022
by Ashleigh Webber 13 Sep 2022 Alice-Photo / Shutterstock
Alice-Photo / Shutterstock

Employers could still be struggling to access the candidates they need despite signs recruitment activity is slowing down, as unemployment in the UK reaches its lowest level since 1974.

The latest official labour market estimates from the Office for National Statistics show that June to August 2022 saw the largest quarterly fall in job vacancies since the same period in 2020. Compared to the previous quarter there were 34,000 fewer vacancies posted, down 2.6%.

Yet, demand for candidates in industries including electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply; public administration and defence and compulsory social security; education; and health and social care continued to increase.

The figures suggest that for those still hiring, problems persisted in May to July 2022 as the unemployment rate fell to 3.6% and candidate availability shrunk as the number of full-time employees rose.

Vacancies fell more quickly among smaller companies in June to August 2022.

The number of people unemployed for up to six months fell to a record low and the economic inactivity rate increased by 0.4 percentage points to 21.7%, mainly driven by people who said they were students or had long-term illnesses that prevented them from working.

Payrolled employees also increased to a record 29.7m in August, up 71,000 on revised July figures, while the number of “workforce jobs” – the official measure of jobs the UK – rose to a record 35.8m.

Labour market and recruitment

Illness and fewer part-time jobs see drop in over 50s in work

Growth in vacancies at 18-month low as economic uncertainty affects hiring

Jack Kennedy, UK economist at job site Indeed, said the figures suggested the labour market was losing its momentum.

“There remains extreme tightness with vacancies nonetheless remaining near record levels and economic inactivity reversing its recent falls to rise to its highest level since 2016. This was caused by people at opposite ends of the career ladder; largely driven by those aged 16 to 24 years and those aged 50 to 64 years. This participation gap in the labour market means hiring became even more challenging for employers,” he said.

Ben Keighley, founder of social media recruitment specialist Socially Recruited, said: “While vacancies remain high they are falling in two-thirds of sectors, as economic uncertainty is leading many businesses to consider recruitment freezes.

“Employers looking to bolster their workforce must widen their search to include those not actively looking for roles and go to greater lengths to recruit talent as soaring inflation takes a larger bite out of wages.”

Ben Harrison, director of the Work Foundation at Lancaster University, said many workers could be concerned about job security as energy prices rise.

“There will be anxiety for those workers in industries vulnerable to soaring energy prices as the six-month employer support package fails to provide longer term security. It is vital that when the Chancellor delivers his Budget in the coming weeks he provides more clarity on how these sectors can be supported, and how the government intends to restore the UK economy to growth.”

Real pay continues to fall

Real pay continued to fall in May to July 2022. Adjusted for inflation, total pay – which includes bonuses – fell 2.6% and regular pay was down 2.8% compared to the same period last year. The decline in real regular wages was slightly smaller than the record fall reported last month (3.0%), but remains among the largest falls in pay growth since comparable records began in 2001.

Average regular pay growth for the private sector was 6% in May to July 2022 and 2% for the public sector. Outside of the height of the pandemic, this is the largest difference observed by the ONS since records began.

Lauren Thomas, UK economist at Glassdoor, said inflation, energy and economic concerns are major worries for employees.

“In the six months since February 2022, mentions of energy/heating and layoffs/redundancies have increased 33% and 81% respectively in employee discussion on Fishbowl by Glassdoor. Concerns about the cost-of-living crisis have also grown sharply, with negative mentions of cost of living or inflation growing over four times since December of 2021,” she said.

Recruitment and resourcing opportunities on Personnel Today


Browse more recruitment and resourcing jobs

Ashleigh Webber
Ashleigh Webber

Ashleigh is editor of OHW+ and HR and wellbeing editor at Personnel Today. Ashleigh's areas of interest include employee health and wellbeing, equality and inclusion and skills development. She has hosted many webinars for Personnel Today, on topics including employee retention, financial wellbeing and menopause support. Prior to joining Personnel Today in 2018, she covered the road transport sector for Commercial Motor and Motor Transport magazines, touching on some of the employment and wellbeing issues experienced by those in road haulage.

previous post
Queen Elizabeth II national mourning: Five HR issues
next post
Retailers to give staff time off for Queen’s funeral

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

You may also like

Unions and industry voice irritation with green policy...

21 Sep 2023

CIPD publishes manifesto for good work

20 Sep 2023

AI has positive impact on jobs market, report...

20 Sep 2023

Pay growth catches up with inflation

12 Sep 2023

Permanent and temp hiring slows in August

8 Sep 2023

Social mobility in UK at its lowest ebb...

7 Sep 2023

Economic inactivity among older people remains ‘stubbornly high’

7 Sep 2023

UK businesses could be on course for a...

29 Aug 2023

Record quarterly rise in young men not in...

25 Aug 2023

Summer slump in recruitment not as sharp as...

21 Aug 2023

  • Discover the value of CIPD accreditation PROMOTED | See how the CIPD can increase your earning potential...Read more
  • What does it mean to be an HR professional in 2024? (survey) PROMOTED | The world of HR is changing rapidly...Read more
  • The Contractor Management Mastery Pack: Everything you need to manage and pay global contractors PROMOTED | Answers to cross-border...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2023

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2023 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+