Demand for UK staff declines at fastest rate in over three years

KPMG and REC survey

Overall demand for workers in February declined at the quickest rate since January 2021, the closely-watched KPMG and REC UK report on jobs has found.

In their latest UK jobs report, compiled by S&P Global, the firms found the slowdown in hiring and redundancies drove "further marked increases" in candidate availability while pay pressures abated. The number of permanent placements also fell, mostly due to "ongoing economic uncertainty and hesitancy" to commit to new hires, whereas temporary billings dropped to the steepest rate since mid-2020. Rates of starting pay for both permanent and temporary workers have increased, in a bid to address the ongoing cost of living crisis as well as to land highly-skilled candidates. US jobs d...