Pay rates for temporary staff in the UK rose last month at the fastest pace in nearly a year amid signs that the job market squeeze is easing.
Permanent hiring fell by the smallest amount in 10 months, while billings for temporary staff dropped by the least since January, according to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation’s (REC) latest report on jobs.
The UK job market has come under close scrutiny as Bank of England officials have said they want to see signs that the labour market is easing before they are comfortable cutting interest rates.
The most recent data indicates that the downturn might be bottoming out after previous REC surveys had depicted a subdued outlook on hiring and pay for newly employed workers.
“The critical moment in any labour market slowdown is the point at which demand starts to turn around. Today’s hiring data suggests that point is close, with fewer recruitment firms reporting a drop in demand,” REC chief executive Neil Carberry said.
Starting salaries for permanent roles were impacted by the change to the national minimum wage, which increased by nearly 10% in April.
Part of the growth in temporary pay — the fastest since June 2023 — reflected April’s 9.8% rise in the minimum wage, Carberry said.
