The latest Labour Market Outlook report from the CIPD continues to show that there has been some positive changes in the labour market since the start of the Pandemic, things are far from rosy.

This report was published before new lockdown restrictions were imposed in November.

You can download the full report here

Recruitment and Redundancy

  • Redundancy intentions, down from 33% to 30%
  • Employment confidence is highest in healthcare (+36) and education (+10) and lowest in manufacturing (–27), finance and insurance (–18), and hospitality (–14)
  • More than half (53%) of employers responding to the autumn survey are planning to recruit in Q4 2020
  • 30% of organisations expect to make some redundancies in the next three months
  • Labour supply has increased since the onset of the pandemic for low-skilled roles (up from 20 to 25 applicants), medium-skilled roles (up from 10 to 15 applicants) and high-
    skilled roles (up from 7 to 10 applicants)

Pay

  • Pay expectations in the private sector are 0%, compared with 0.8% three months earlier.
  • Pay expectations are higher in both the public sector (2%) and voluntary sector (1.7%).
  • More than half (51%) of private sector firms expect to freeze pay over the next 12 months
  • Average basic pay increase expectations for the next 12 months are 1%

Net Employment Score

  • Confidence is returning in employment prospects with a swing of 21 points from a high of 22 in Winter 2019/20 though to Autumn 2020
  • Reducing headcount is still a factor for many employers (-4)
  • Confidence is returning to hire new staff (+3)
  • Majority of firms plan to hold steady and maintain staff levels (44)