Starmer's Britain: Job Vacancies Plunging in Stalled UK Economy

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Job vacancies are disappearing faster in the United Kingdom than in other similar countries over the past year, recruitment platform Indeed revealed on Tuesday, with the second six months of the year seeing the greatest decline in employment openings as business confidence slumps.

The dire state of the job market is adding to signs of a loss of momentum in the British economy under the newly elected left-wing Labour government led by Sir Keir Starmer, Reuters reports.

Indeed’s data showed that as of Nov. 29 there were 23 percent fewer jobs advertised on its platform in Britain compared with a year earlier – a sharper decline than the 14 percent drop shown in official data which covers the August to October period.

Job vacancies were 12 percent lower than before the coronavirus pandemic, with Reuter’s noting:

“The balance of power has certainly swung towards employers as the labour market has softened, as evidenced by the fall in job postings, decline in signing bonuses, easing wage growth and rising zero hours contract postings,” Indeed economist Jack Kennedy said.

While France did only slightly better with a 22 percent annual decline, other comparable countries including the United States, Germany, Ireland, Canada and Australia had falls in a range of five percent to 15 percent.

Indeed’s data shows a steady fall in vacancies through 2024 but businesses’ concerns about hiring have become sharper since finance minister Rachel Reeves announced a 25 billion pound ($32 billion) rise in employer payroll taxes in her Oct. 30 budget.

“Employers will likely continue with caution when it comes to hiring in 2025,” Indeed said.

On Monday the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, which represents recruitment agencies, said demand for workers in Britain collapsed last month after the budget.

In a further damaging blow to the left-wing Labour government’s efforts to boost growth, the Guardian reports latest monthly prospects on the job market from accountancy firm KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) found demand for staff declined at a “sharp and accelerated pace” last month, with the steepest fall in vacancies since August 2020.

November marked the 13th successive month of a fall in staff demand, with an “especially severe” drop among vacancies for permanent workers, in the latest sign of a further deterioration in the UK labour market.

“Businesses are having to weigh up the prospect of increasing employee costs following the budget, which has led to an accelerated slowdown in hiring activity across the board,” said Jon Holt, group chief executive at KPMG.