Trade body responds to latest ONS labour statistics

With the latest Labour market data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) revealing that vacancy numbers in January 2021 to March 2021 fell by nearly 23% in the UK, Tania Bowers, Legal Counsel and Head of Public Policy at the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) comments:

“While the latest figures show a decline in vacancies for the first quarter of 2021 when compared to the same period last year, the picture overall isn’t as negative as it may appear. It’s important to consider that the pandemic hit in March 2020, so Q1’s figures from last year will be inflated by over two months of hiring in a non-Covid hit economy.

“It will be the ONS data for the second quarter that will really show how the UK’s labour market is recovering as lockdown restrictions begin to ease – and signs so far suggest that we are on a positive upward trajectory. According to the latest APSCo Recruitment Trends Snapshot report, professional vacancy numbers in the UK saw substantial increases in March, with permanent jobs rising 17% and contract roles up 23% month-on-month. Perhaps more importantly, the data, provided by growth analytics platform, cube19, also showed that the annual percentage changes have, for the first time, shown substantial increases – with permanent roles up 6% and contract vacancies up 29% when compared to the same period in 2020 – suggesting that hiring intentions are firmly back on the agenda for the professional sectors.”

Ends

Press contact

Vickie Collinge

vickie@bluesky-pr.com

01582 790705