📊 The pulse of the market
Labour market data from sources you can trust
The Wave Recruitment Trends Snapshot for March
Wave data has shown that both jobs increased, but applications fell in March. More significantly, the average application per job has fallen by 7 points, caused by a slower February for jobs.
On our monthly look at the most active industries, Education tops the chart with the most number of jobs posted, but it’s the Manufacturing industry that shows the most applications.
Want to see more of Wave’s data and reports? Find them here.
Job vacancies in the UK have fallen to the lowest levels in 3 years
Reed Recruitment – which has historically been a source of reliable data and a good predicator of shifts in the market – has revealed that vacancies fell to their lowest level in more than three years in the first two months of 2024, with almost every sector suffering further drops in job openings. The year-on-year slowdown in hiring spans all sectors except estate agents, with southern England experiencing the most significant declines.
Want further details? Read more here.
The UK economy grew at the start of 2024 but remains fragile
Following two consecutive quarters of contraction in the second half of 2023, which marked a technical recession, GDP grew by 0.2% in January according to the Office for National Statistics. However, output in January 2024 remained below 2023 levels and, although the jobs market seems to be cooling, it is still running close to full employment. If the data shows that the growth continued into February and March, it will be the shortest recession in UK history.
For more information on recent UK GDP figures, read more here.
📰 The pulse of the industry
A curation of the best content from the world of recruitment
LinkedIn: The future of recruiting 2024
The annual LinkedIn Future of Recruiting takes its insights from surveying thousands of recruiting professionals, speaking with top talent leaders, and analysing billions of data points generated on the LinkedIn platform. That data forms their predictions for the year ahead in recruitment. This year they offer six predictions:
- AI will supercharge recruiting
- Recruiting will help build the skills-based workforce of the future
- Quality of hire will top the recruiting agenda
- Agility will be a must-have for recruiting themes
- Recruiting teams will advocate for flex work policies
- Attracting Gen Z will require a new playbook.
25 facts for recruiters globally
Did you miss Greg Savage speak at the Recruitment Agency Expo in London in March? I am gutted to say I did but he’s pulled together the highlights in the form of 25 points that will both inform and resonate with recruiters everywhere, plus links that expand on each topic. 2 of my favourite?
- Don’t ask, ‘Will AI and tech replace recruiters?’ Ask, ‘What parts of the recruiter’s jobs will be better done by tech?‘. Then 1) automate accordingly, 2) Hire and train accordingly.
- Always be recruiting, even if not hiring.
HireVue’s 4th annual Global Trends Report
Based on the survey results of 6,000 recruitment leaders and 3,300 candidates from across the globe, HireVue’s Global Trends Report 2024 has uncovered some fascinating insights, including:
- Recruiters appear to be emphasising candidate potential over past experience and qualifications. For example, 65% use skills assessments to determine potential, 21% replaced resumes with skills-based assessments, and 96% of respondents are looking at a combination of current skills for near-term roles and future skills for likely needs.
- A third of candidates say they turned down a job because the hiring process was so poor – their refusal was based on poor communication (62%), lack of transparency (46%), and poor compensation and benefits (37%).
📣 The pulse of the people
What industry figures are saying right now
The incredibly insightful schedule of talks at this year’s Recruitment Agency Expo in London provided a raft of insights but we’ve picked on our top 3 key takeaways from the 2 day event…
- AI can help recruiters as long as it is used for the right tasks. Use AI to automate tasks that take you away from the human part of your job as a recruiter, freeing up time to focus on your people power. Firefish’s Wendy McDougall described it as “the delicate balance between leveraging AI for efficiency and innovation, and preserving the essential human elements in recruitment.”
- Diversity, Equity & Inclusion as a central tenet of recruitment was prevalent in a huge variety of talks. As an industry we need to get better at inclusive recruitment and that starts with acknowledging your biases (we all have them) and putting policies in place that are resolutely adhered to. Jo Major’s hard truth-focused, panel-led discussion was a particular highlight for me.
- Technology is now business-critical in recruitment but choosing the right tech is just as critical. Unsurprisingly, rec tech was also at the forefront of discussions at the expo but what was emphasised again and again was the vital importance of choosing your tech carefully and creating a tech stack that works for you and your business. Seamless integration is key, as is investing in tech at the right point in your business’ growth. Just Recruit’s Erika Clifford warned against becoming blindsided by “shiny things,” i.e. don’t sign up to every cool new piece of tech out there without ensuring it fits into your existing tech stack.
