UK demand for workers set to fall at fastest pace in the world

https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/economics/article/uk-demand-for-workers-set-to-fall-at-fastest-pace-in-the-world-vnwchmmfj

by BestButtons

25 comments

  1. Article contents:

    **‘Perfect storm’ of cost pressures, AI disruption and policy uncertainty are forecast to take hiring demand to a record low**

    *Alex Ralph, Chief Business Correspondent, September 9 2025, The Times*

    Hiring demand among British employers has fallen to a new low and the UK is expected to record one of the sharpest slowdowns in recruitment in the world in the final quarter of 2025, a survey suggests.

    The latest global employment outlook survey by ManpowerGroup, which captures quarterly hiring intentions from more than 40,000 companies in 42 countries, including 2,000 UK employers, showed that anticipated headcount growth for the last three months of the year had fallen to 11 per cent of companies in Britain.

    That was the biggest drop among the nations canvassed for the data, the American recruitment company said, as UK employers faced a “perfect storm of cost pressures, AI disruption and policy uncertainty” before the autumn budget.

    The figure is calculated by subtracting the number of companies that plan to reduce staffing levels from those that plan to recruit, a positive result indicating that more businesses planned to increase rather than decrease headcount.

    The UK reading was down 17 percentage points in a year, which was the steepest drop among the surveyed nations: Singapore, Hungary and Finland, the next worst, fell by 9 percentage points. The UK also suffered the worst quarter-on-quarter fall of 8 points, followed by Costa Rica and Colombia, both down 6 points on the quarter.

    Petra Tagg, a director at the recruiter, said: “The UK economy has stalled and with it so has hiring. The labour market has been moving at an almost glacial pace for months and while there remains some movement in roles for the highly skilled, we’re very far off the 30 per cent hiring outlooks we saw in early 2022.”

    Business confidence has been hit by the increase and changes to employers’ national insurance contributions in last October’s budget and rising operational costs. Employers are now adopting a more conservative approach to hiring, amid uncertainty before the next budget in November, ManpowerGroup said.

    Information technology continues to lead sector performance, with financials and property following behind. The consumer goods and services sector is on course for the sharpest year-on-year drop. Energy and utilities posted the strongest quarterly growth.

    “It’s a tough outlook for the UK at the moment. Whereas last year the same pressure was being felt across Europe, this year the UK labour market is steering its own course and it’s unlike one we’ve faced before,” Tagg said.

    “Employers are weighing recruitment investment against the need to drive efficiency through AI and automation. What’s needed now is a corrective course of action: relief on employment costs, clarity on policy timelines and bold investment in long-term infrastructure and pragmatic innovation.”

    Separate survey data showed yesterday that pay growth fell to a near four-year low as the supply of potential employees increased and demand for workers slowed.

    Average pay growth across the economy fell from 3.4 per cent to 3 per cent in the three months to July, the slowest pace since December 2021, according to figures from Incomes Data Research.

    Vacancies for entry-level jobs in the UK have also been dropping sharply. They fell during the first half of the year as companies turned to AI to take on routine tasks. The ManpowerGroup survey found that demand for entry-level jobs was expected to stabilise towards the end of the year to make up 61 per cent of all hiring.

    Tagg said: “It’s an employer’s market. Candidates who bring the right skills match will be in a strong position to negotiate and shape their career paths. Managers, meanwhile, facing headcount restrictions, are scrutinising ways they can maximise productivity with existing talent and resources.”

    Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, in comments last month when official figures showed that wage growth and employment had slowed in the three months to June, said: “There is more to do, but in the first year [of the Labour government] we’ve managed to return stability to the economy.”

    There is renewed hope among businesses that the government’s Employments Rights Bill, which includes increasing union powers and a clampdown on zero-hours contracts and so-called fire and rehire practices, could be watered down, after last week’s resignation of Angela Rayner, the architect of the plans. The government remains under pressure, however, from union bosses to deliver on the reforms.

    A Treasury spokesman said that 380,000 jobs had been created since the start of the parliament in July last year and business confidence was at its highest in more than ten years, according to a recent Lloyds Bank survey.

    “That is because we are a pro-business government, which has seen interest rates fall five times, struck three major trade deals with the EU, US and India, reformed business rates and capped corporation tax at 25 per cent.”

  2. We are already aware. Record adult economic inactivity (22%) and rising every month.

  3. Who would have thought that creating an economy based on house prices and service sector/people spending money might be open to risk.

  4. We are utterly screwed in this country. Hurtling towards poverty.

  5. I dread to think what will happen when AI, robotics and automation eventually make 99% of the population of the the planet obsolete. Maybe the billionaires will keep a few of us around for entertainment purposes.

  6. The new unemployment figures mask the total collapse of the private sector while the public sector in on a hiring boom. Its still not enough to offset the losses and it means government spending is rising even faster.

    What a mess.

  7. Great time to push a bunch of disabled people onto the whims of the labour market lol

  8. Well there is only one solution: increase taxes on employers and employees, throw money at pensioners and make sure nothing gets built. Just because it has failed the last 200 times doesn’t mean it will fail this time.

  9. For those wondering the lowest hiring industry is ‘consumer goods and services’ with just 4% of companies looking to hire, while the highest hiring industry is IT, with just under half of companies looking to hire.

  10. Here we go. Daily dose of fear mongering to my morning coffee. So now we are worse than US apparently despite US being unable to provide eggs and other groceries to people.

  11. People in the UK are either overworked and underpaid, or unemployed!

  12. I work part-time in company that supplies supermarkets in entire UK.

    Past month we had record high demand from shops and barely could manage.

    Seems like this is just controlled fear mongering.

  13. One approach that needs serious consideration is reducing working hours. Many people might be willing to work fewer hours and have more time off, even if it meant a reduction in income. However, in order to be effective, reduced-hours workers would still need the same employment rights and protections as full-time workers. Also, the tax system would need to he adjusted to ensure that there were no penalties for companies employing more people and compensations for the higher HR overheads. There could even be incentives for companies going down this route. Basically, if there aren’t enough decent jobs to go round, then find ways of sharing the available work.

    We need fresh thinking. A better future doesn’t always have to mean more money. For some it might mean less work and more free time.

  14. You can get the source material here…

    https://go.manpowergroup.com/meos

    More companies expect to expand than shrink.

    We had the biggest drop but we were previously near the top, now we are towards the bottom but not at the bottom.

  15. But what about all the people we imported to work, are they just do nothing now?

  16. Increasing tax on employers doesn’t encourage more jobs creation? Who would have thought.

  17. Pension age should rise to 90, so the young get no chance of ever getting a job.

  18. If you want a fascist dictatorship in this country this is how it happens.

  19. The last thing the policy makers wants is millions of jobless men.. that’s when radicalization becomes the norm.

  20. Labour will look at this and still decide to keep making it more expensive to run a business and hire people in the next budget.

  21. TWO DAMN YEARS i’ve been looking for work applying to 1000s of jobs born and raised 5th gen British -asian not able to find work even manual labour low entry level jobs e.g warehouses, petrol station, corner shops.

    Why would they pay us brits for 50+ hours of work at minimum wage?

    When they can hire Rajinder the Indian student on a visa legally only allowed to work 16 hours but then offerend an extra 45 hours paid at £4 an hour cash in hand ( WHICH HE HAPPILY ACCEPTS AND SEND BSCK HOME TO INDIA SINCE THATS WHERE THEY GO AFTER THE VISA EXPIRES)

    Oh and it’s great being banded into the category of people actually taking all the jobs just because of the colour of my skin.

  23. Don’t forget the amazing idea of increasing minimum and living wage along with NI companies pay all around the same sort of time.

    Great idea all round

  24. Good thing we imported 5 million people for the non existent jobs.

    The young and those with gaps in their cvs are screwed.

  25. Countries fucked.

    Houses 10 times salary.

    You need £1000+ a month for childcare nevermind the rest.

    You can’t raise a family on 1 income anymore and people wonder why society is failing.

    Maybe it’s because the majority of what everyone does is work work work and pay bills.

    And it’s not going to change because nobody in power gives a fuck because they’re on the grift.

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