The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) reported that permanent hiring by British employers decreased at the least severe rate in over a year in May, indicating a potential recovery in the jobs market.
Temporary staff billings also saw the smallest decrease since January.
REC Chief Executive Neil Carberry stated that the jobs market is showing signs of improvement, with key measures showing progress over the previous month.
The REC survey has historically presented a weaker labor market picture than official data, which showed annual wage growth of 6% in Q1 2024.
Carberry attributed the hesitancy of employers regarding hiring to the upcoming July 4 national election and the expected interest rate cuts by the Bank of England later in the year.
The REC report indicates that caution may be easing in the labor market.
Permanent staff pay rates rose at a moderate pace, similar to April's four-month high.
Vacancies decreased at the slowest rate in seven months, and the availability of staff increased significantly due to redundancies, higher unemployment, and decreased demand for workers.
The Bank of England (BoE) is closely monitoring the labor market as they consider when inflation pressure in the economy has lessened enough to reduce borrowing costs for the first time since the
coronavirus pandemic began over four years ago.