Growth in hiring despite uncertain outlook

New survey data from agency group, APSCo, reveals that both permanent and temporary placements have risen year-on-year.

APSCo data, which focuses on professional recruitment, reveals notable variations between the trade association's core sector groups. While permanent placements across engineering and IT rose, particularly in IT, placements within finance fell.

Despite placements rising in December, the number of new jobs coming onto the market fell by two per cent. Demand for finance and IT staff fell across both the permanent and contract arenas with the former suffering more so than others with demand for finance plummeting by 14 per cent.

This is perhaps unsurprising given the widespread reports in the latter part of 2016 that banks would be moving large numbers of jobs from the Capital which may very well have stalled recruitment activity. And following Prime Minister, Theresa May's speech outlining the UK's Brexit Strategy, HSBC and UBS have already revealed plans to move at least 1000 jobs each from London, suggesting that this decline within financial services may well continue as we progress throughout 2017.

Ann Swain, Chief Executive of APSCo said: "There is no doubt that parts of the UK jobs market have suffered in the months following Brexit – and our data demonstrates that employers continue to take a far more cautious approach to hiring. However it is not all doom and gloom with several indicators suggesting that the UK is faring better than expected following the referendum."