London’s economy faces a headwind as recruitment slows

Recent data reveals that London’s recruitment activity has dipped significantly, with June seeing the lowest total of vacancies this year. That’s according to recent research from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo).

The data, provided by business intelligence specialist, Vacancysoft, also revealed that since recruitment activity peaked in March, volumes have been gradually subsiding. With recent reports of vacancies reaching record-breaking figures, top candidates are being met with a plethora of job options to pick between, meaning that some firms simply cannot fill their vacancies and are consequently removing them from job boards.

Looking ahead, London’s economy could be facing headwinds. While the London economy has traditionally been so reliant on Financial Services, the industry is now falling behind Technology, with corporate finance slowing down alongside the cost-of-living crisis, which is inevitably impacting consumer spending. Although it is Technology companies that are out recruiting all other sectors, there are concerns that the tech bull market may finally be coming to an end. In the last few months, Meta has reported its first drop in advertising revenues in 18 years, Crypto is facing new lows and tech companies are now laying off workers at unprecedented speeds: In the last month, we have seen redundancies announced by Klarna (10%), Freetrade (15%) and Hopin (30%).

In contrast, the Banking sector has seen the biggest growth in vacancies in 2022 compared to 2021, with volumes up 46%. In line with this trend, when considering skills across all sectors, the fastest growing area in 2022 so far has been in specialist Banking roles, across front and middle office, where the uplift has been 42%. As the UK moves to a post-EU future, risk and compliance is becoming a key area Banks are needing to recruit for.

Ann Swain, CEO of APSCo, comments:

“While talk of the pandemic has certainly simmered, London’s economy has far from recovered. Admittedly, vacancies in the capital have shown promising signs of growth this year, however, the recent decline should be cause for concern in the current market, with talks of a potential recession in the pipeline. The UK’s post-Covid economy has been hit with employment strikes, skills shortages, Government uncertainty and a cost-of-living crisis all of which have already started to negatively impact London’s recruitment and redundancy rates.

Stability is crucial as we continue to navigate such an ambiguous market. As the trade body for the professional recruitment sector, we believe that there is more to be done to make the UK’s employment sector competitive on a global scale and redeem the capital’s status as Europe’s leading economic powerhouse.”

ENDS

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