Overview
- KPMG-REC data show permanent placements declined again nationwide in November, though at the slowest pace since July 2024.
- London recorded an eighth consecutive monthly drop in permanent hiring, with one of the sharpest reductions in vacancies since the pandemic.
- Temporary hiring softened overall as UK temp billings slipped back into contraction after October’s marginal rise, while London billings ticked up despite weaker demand.
- Candidate availability rose sharply, with the supply index at 45.5 as redundancies and fewer vacancies swelled the pool of jobseekers.
- REC figures show permanent placements fell to 536,000 in 2024 from 806,400 in 2023 and industry GVA dropped to £40.6bn, while BDO’s employment index hit 93.53 in November and ONS put unemployment at 5%.