Permanent vacancies stable year-on-year; Contract vacancies fall 12 percent; Particular candidate shortages in social work, engineering and finance sectors; Average salaries increase by 1.2 percent. Comment Ann Swain, Chief Executive of APSCo.

Professional recruitment firms reported that overall vacancy numbers for permanent roles increased by 0.3 percent in April 2017, while demand for contractors decreased by 12 percent year-on-year, according to new survey data from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo). APSCo’s data, which focuses on professional recruitment, reveals notable variations between the trade association’s core sector groups in terms of hiring activity. While permanent vacancies across social work have increased significantly (by 36 percent), permanent roles within IT slipped by 6 percent. Permanent placements increased by 4 percent year-on-year while contractor placements also rose by 4 percent over the same period, further signalling market resilience.

Candidate shortages becoming more evident
APSCo’s data also points towards the ever growing skills shortage plaguing several sectors including social work, engineering and finance. Demand for social work professionals, for example, increased by 36 percent year-on-year while 17 percent fewer jobs were filled during the same period. This is in keeping with widespread reports of shortages facing the professional social worker arena in recent months.

Average salaries up
APSCo’s figures also reveal that median salaries across all professional sectors increased by 1.2 percent. This figure is characterised by notable fluctuations in terms of sector, with engineering and financial services both recording uplifts (1.9 percent and 4.8 percent respectively).

Ann Swain, Chief Executive of APSCo comments: “Despite the current climate of uncertainty, permanent hiring levels continue to remain stable, demonstrating the resilient nature of the recruitment sector. In addition our data reveals that average salaries have increased by 1.2 percent year-on-year which is a further positive sign for the labour market. However with the election just around the corner, and Brexit on the horizon – which threatens to impact the UK’s access to professional talent – the recruitment industry is facing a challenging road ahead. This is why we are urging the Government to undertake a review of the UK labour market to ensure employment legislation remains ‘fit for purpose’ and enables flexible working to flourish in the wake of growing skills and candidate shortages which could be exacerbated in a post Brexit era.”