Firms hold back on hiring amid ‘significant cost rises’, surveys say
Companies are putting the brakes on hiring new staff amid a “subdued” economic outlook and rising wage bills, according to the latest business surveys.In signs of a weakening UK labour market, the consultancy KPMG and the trade body the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) said a marked decline in the number of people being placed in permanent and temporary roles continued in February, although hiring declined at a slower pace than in January.It came as a separate survey showed that unemployment was rising, as businesses prepared for a rise in labour costs in April, dragging the employment index from the business advisory and accountancy firm BDO down to levels not seen since the wake of the global financial crisis.Business optimism fell for the fifth time in a row.The monthly jobs report from KPMG and the REC highlighted firms’ weaker demand for workers, as overall vacancies dropped further in February.
More workers have lost their jobs, increasing the number of jobseekers and keeping a lid on overall pay pressures, the report found.Starting salaries rose at their weakest pace in four years.The chancellor Rachel Reeves’s planned £25bn increase in employers’ national insurance contributions and 6.7% rise in the minimum wage will take effect from April.Neil Carberry, the REC’s chief executive, said: “After a long winter, there are some hints of a turn in the labour market as we head into spring.
This is led by the private sector – despite recent tax rises – and that shouldn’t be missed.”Carberry called on Reeves to build confidence in the UK’s economic growth when she makes her spring statement to parliament on 26 March.“At the moment, though, things are still slow as companies hold their breath in the face of significant cost rises from April with changes to national insurance and the national living wage,” Carberry said.Business leaders had previously warned that Reeves’s autumn budget had added to the economic headwinds, arguing that the £25bn increase in employer national insurance contributions would force them to cut jobs or raise prices.Jon Holt, the group chief executive and UK senior partner at KPMG, said many companies continued to have a “wait and see approach to hiring”.
He added that the softer decline in recruitment seen in February “could be an indication that expectations of further interest rate cuts and better-than-expected recent economic data are starting to release some of the pressures on business”.Sign up to Business TodayGet set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morningafter newsletter promotionBDO said the last time businesses reported feeling a similar lack of confidence was in January 2021, when they were battling Covid lockdowns.UK business output fell for the second consecutive month in February, BDO’s monthly business trends report found, which it said signalled a slowdown in overall economic activity in the UK despite the resilience of the services sector.Unseasonably warm weather in February and the continued shift in consumer spending from goods to services noted since the pandemic are two possible reasons for the relative strength of the services sector.However, BDO said the overall slowdown in UK economic activity is expected to persist for the rest of the year.
Firms hold back on hiring amid ‘significant cost rises’, surveys say
Companies are putting the brakes on hiring new staff amid a “subdued” economic outlook and rising wage bills, according to the latest business surveys.In signs of a weakening UK labour market, the consultancy KPMG and the trade body the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) said a marked decline in the number of people being placed in permanent and temporary roles continued in February, although hiring declined at a slower pace than in January.It came as a separate survey showed that unemployment was rising, as businesses prepared for a rise in labour costs in April, dragging the employment index from the business advisory and accountancy firm BDO down to levels not seen since the wake of the global financial crisis. Business optimism fell for the fifth time in a row.The monthly jobs report from KPMG and the REC highlighted firms’ weaker demand for workers, as overall vacancies dropped further in February
Just two buyers left in race to buy WH Smith high street division – report
There are only two buyers left in the race to buy retailer WH Smith’s ailing high street division, according to a report.The retail group confirmed in January it was seeking a buyer for its 500 UK high street shops, in a shake-up that would leave it free to focus on its more successful travel arm, where it has stores in railway stations, airports and hospitals in the UK and abroad.Restructuring firm Alteri and the Hobbycraft owner Modella Capital, both of which have experience in buying troubled retailers, are the only two parties remaining in talks about a deal, according to Sky News.The owner of HMV, Doug Putman, who was seen as a potential bidder for the chain, is reportedly no longer in talks with bankers at Greenhill about an offer.The Guardian understands that bidders have submitted first-round offers for the chain to WH Smith in the past few weeks, and the sale process is ongoing with the hope of a deal being completed in April
Skype shutdown surfaces sweet memories: ‘I proposed marriage’
Microsoft announced on the last day of February that it would sunset Skype. By the time the death knell tolled, the video chatting software that once revolutionized communications had become a ghost of its former self. Experts chimed in with half-hearted eulogies for the platform that Microsoft spent years neglecting, yet few were surprised, and even fewer shed tears.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link
Who bought this smoked salmon? How ‘AI agents’ will change the internet (and shopping lists)
Autonomous digital assistants are being developed that can carry out tasks on behalf of the user – including ordering the groceries. But if you don’t keep an eye on them, dinner might not be quite what you expect …I’m watching artificial intelligence order my groceries. Armed with my shopping list, it types each item into the search bar of a supermarket website, then uses its cursor to click. Watching what appears to be a digital ghost do this usually mundane task is strangely transfixing. “Are you sure it’s not just a person in India?” my husband asks, peering over my shoulder
Gout Gout has ‘kicked on further’ amid hype and busy upcoming schedule
The emergence of Gout Gout has electrified the Australian athletics calendar which launches into the Queensland Championships this weekend, before it builds towards a once-in-a-generation showdown at the Stawell Gift next month.The local teenager will start his finely-tuned, four-meet Australian programme this weekend in Brisbane as part of a schedule that balances experience-building under-20 races with high-profile opens contests.The national 200m record holder will line up in his primary event at both the Maurie Plant meet in Melbourne on 29 March as well as the national championships in Western Australian in the second week of April. He ran 20.04s in December to beat Peter Norman’s mark that had stood for 56 years
Courtney-Bryant wins 3,000m European Indoor silver after Koster’s horror fall
Melissa Courtney-Bryant held her nerve – and her footing – amid one of the more disturbing scenes on an athletics track in recent memory to win a gutsy 3,000m European Indoor Championships silver medal.Early in the race, the Briton heard a scream and knew that the Dutch athlete Maureen Koster, her close friend, had crashed to the ground. What she didn’t know was that Koster had also smashed her head and was unconscious.As the athletes sped around the 200m track, officials rushed out to drag the unresponsive Koster off the track like a rag doll. No wonder the crowd went silent
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