Last month the ONS (office for national statistics) published its latest labour market report. It made for interesting reading – at least it did if you’re an HR geek like me! Here are some key insights:
• the number of working people rose to a record high of 35.8 million (that includes the self-employed, trainees and members of the armed forces)
• unemployment decreased to 3.6%, the lowest since 1974!
• the number of job vacancies in the last quarter was 1.26 million
• the data showed that pay growth was 5.2% in May to July; but
• adjusted for inflation, regular pay has fallen by 2.8% over the year
And at the moment, the cost-of-living crisis doesn’t seem to have lured people back into the workplace. In fact, there are more people exiting the jobs market altogether, and this is often due to poor health reasons. Economic inactivity is increasing – this is mostly made up of 352,000 people currently on long-term sick and 271,000 students. What’s worrying, is that NHS waiting lists, poor mental health, a lack of specialist employment support and long covid will all be playing into this picture.
If you speak to any recruiting employer at the moment, you will know that skills shortages and a lack of candidates continues to be the bane of their lives. A recent survey showed their biggest challenges in hiring were a lack of technical skills and knowledge, a lack of industry experience and salary expectations.
So what have HR leaders being doing to help mitigate these obstacles? Popular options are: streamlining the time to final interview, giving candidates more access to current team members, increasing salary bands, investing in new technologies and adopting more flexible or remote working practices.
It’s certainly not an easy time for businesses and HR folks out there at the moment. If you need a hand with any of these challenges – please get in touch.
By Ruth George – HR Consultant
ruth@ruthgeorge.com
07899 920075
www.ruthgeorge.com
This is not legal advice and is provided for general information only. © Ruth George HR Consulting.
