ISTOCK
Hiring intentions by British businesses fell to their weakest since the Covid-19 pandemic and recruiters said starting pay was rising at the slowest pace in over four years, according to surveys on Monday which add to signs of a weakening jobs market.
With the Bank of England watching the jobs market closely, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development said only 57% of private sector employers planned to recruit staff over the next three months, the lowest since the start of 2021 though only slightly down from 58% in the last quarterly survey.
The professional body for the human resources sector said higher employer social security charges introduced by finance minister Rachel Reeves and an increased minimum wage were hurting jobs, particularly in hospitality and social care.
Planned changes to employment law which are likely to make it harder to sack employees in their first two years in a job were also making businesses more reticent to hire younger, less experienced staff, CIPD economist James Cockett said.
Other business surveys have shown similar concerns, as well as broader headwinds from weak domestic demand and residual uncertainty for some exporters over U.S. trade tariffs.