UK employers hired permanent staff in December at the slowest rate since April the year before as they struggle to find appropriate staff for the post, a new report revealed on Wednesday.
The latest jobs report from the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC)Â and KPMG showed how employers are struggling for staff and demand greater efforts to be able to secure suitable candidates.
Employers said that the economic uncertainty generated by Brexit was shrinking the number of EU workers in the UK and was making people wary of seeking out new roles.
The report found that the number of workers continued to fall sharply at the end of 2018, quickening since November. This low supply inevitably affected the number of permanent staff appointments during the month of December, which was at its lowest since April 2017.
James Stewart, vice chair at KPMG, said,
A lot of people don’t want to move jobs right now because there is so much uncertainty around. In addition, the supply of EU citizens entering the UK for work is slowing while every sector continues to take on more staff. This means a near-record number of vacancies are going unfilled and talent gaps in industries like engineering, finance, and IT are opening up. December is always a bit of lean period in the jobs market but Brexit has amplified that effect.
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This report certainly aligns with my experience in terms of candidate availability. The shortage and reluctancy of potential candidates to move due to uncertainty is real and for sure requires a different approach. Companies need to ensure that they are more structured in their approach to identifying talent as the days of posting a few ads and waiting for a flood of top candidates are over, in my opinion.