Job vacancies at five-year low as smaller firms scale back recruitment
Small firms cite labour and operating costs as reasons for scaling back hiring, the UK's statistics body says.
Official data reveals the number of job vacancies has hit its lowest level in over five years, with smaller businesses cutting back on recruitment. In the May-to-July period, vacancy numbers fell slightly to 707,000, according to the Office for National Statistics. Small firms cited labour and operating costs as reasons for the reduced hiring.
The labour market remained largely unchanged overall, with the unemployment rate steady at 4.9%. While regular earnings, excluding bonuses, saw a slight increase, growth in paychecks for private sector workers slowed to 2.8%, according to KPMG chief economist Yael Selfin. The Institute of Chartered Accountants' Suren Thiru warned that the persistent drop in vacancies signals shrinking labour demand, exacerbated by rising costs, global economic challenges, and policy uncertainty.
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