The latest KPMG and 'REC Report' on Jobs indicates that that
decline in recruitment activity has eased considerably during July. Permanent
staff appointments and contractor/temporary billings both fell at the softest
rates for over five months as more of the global economy reopened.
The report highlights some of the factors being be discussed
by the world’s economists as they predict the COVID-19 recovery in a V, L or K
Shape.
The key findings from August’s KPMG & REC REPORT
indicate:
- Hiring activity falls at a much slower pace, permanent
recruitment activity moved much closer to stabilisation in July.
- Vacancies contract at a softer rate, with
rates notably slower the last three months.
- Redundancies lead to a sharper rise in staff
supply for certain sectors
Neil Carberry, Chief Executive of the REC said, “While
permanent placements and temp billings still decreased last month across most
areas of the country, the pace of decline has slowed hugely as the tide turned
on lockdown. With the economy opening up through June and July, we would expect
an improving trend in the coming months as firms recover from the worst of the
crisis.”
James Stewart Vice Chair at KPMG adds “With the softest
rates of decline seen for five months, it’s encouraging to see the downturn in
recruitment easing as parts of the economy reopen.”
Other positive indicators came from the JPMorgan Global PMI
survey which signalled strengthened global growth in July, led by rebounding
activity from COVID-19 lockdowns notably in Europe and Russia as well as
sustained robust expansion in China. The PMI rose for a third successive month
in July, up from 47.8 in June to 50.8. The latest reading breached the
no-change 50.0 level for the first time in six months to indicate expanding
output across the combined manufacturing and service sectors.
Output rose in 18 of the 26 manufacturing and service
sub-sectors during July, led by automotive and parts manufacturing. The strong
performance of automotive was notable, reflecting the restarting of production
after closures and rising sales as customers returned to forecourts, especially
in Europe.
Commenting on the report and the market outlook Adam Walker,
Director at Redline Group said:
“COVID-19 has resulted in substantive change for companies across the UK and Europe, including those in engineering and high-tech, some of
which have transformed their business to directly mitigate the harm caused by
the pandemic.
Some of the largest technology companies’ revenues have
held steady — if not thriving. Many companies have moved their data centres to
rent computing from Microsoft, Google and Amazon as workers were forced to work
from home.
Many of Apple's factories are nearly back to normal and in
recently published financial results it showed more people were spending time
and money on its digital services.
This trend was highlighted by the KPMG & REC which demonstrated the weakest drop in demand was in the Engineering sector.
The challenges which the pandemic presents are different in
many sectors - airlines and travel companies are struggling to offset the
massive damage being done to their bottom line. In other sectors such as engineering
and technology the 'War for Talent' will continue as the world digitises and the
community continues to dominate the new vacancy market. The Report highlighted
skills shortages and demand for Senior Electronics Engineers, Mechanical Engineers and a broad variety of IT professionals including Data Scientists. ”
For further information on our knowledge-led approach to
recruitment and how we can help your business, please contact Redline Group on
01582 450054 or email info@redlinegroup.com