Employers across the UK have slowed hiring as they brace themselves for a new round of Labour tax hikes in the upcoming November budget.
Starting salaries have only risen fractionally, and pay rises have increased slightly overall, according to the report released by KPMG Jobs and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).
The report also highlights a marked drop in demand for staff in the months leading up to September.
Midlands particularly effected
The data produced in the report is particularly bad news for the Midlands and London, the two regions worst affected by the slowdown. Not good news for jobseekers in these areas who are already struggling in a highly competitive market.
The service industry seems to have taken the biggest hit with jobs in catering, retail and hotels seeing the steepest rates of contraction while engineering and blue-collar jobs saw a slight upturn for both permanent and temporary listings.
Chief exec makes commonsense observation
REC Chief Executive Neil Carberry said “a genuinely pro-business, pro-growth Autumn budget next month could provide much-needed relief.”
He added: “Realistically, I think you’re looking at 1% growth in the UK in 2025, which doesn’t feel great”.
The Chancellor is widely expected to raise taxes in the upcoming budget, which many economists are warning against.
This is set against a backdrop of tens of thousands of private sector entrepreneurs leaving the UK en masse.
