A shortage of candidates to fill a growing number of temporary and permanent roles in the UK has led to a sharp increase in temporary worker billings. The increase was recorded in the latest UK Report on Jobs, for January 2022, based on analysis on jobs market data by KPMG and REC.
The data revealed that, as well as increasing the amount temporary workers were charging, candidate shortages across the UK jobs market had also pushed starting salaries upwards. Another key finding was that hiring activity grew at the start of this year, with demand for workers growing due to improving market conditions following the easing of COVID-related restrictions, according to researchers.
However, employers have struggled to fill these new positions as a result of a shortfall in permanent candidates. Furthermore, temporary worker numbers have suffered as a result of the impact of COVID-19 and IR35 rules.
This lack of candidates has meant that temporary workers available to fill new roles have been able to increase the amounts they are billing. As a result, billings among temporary workers have grown at their fastest rate since August last year.
Claire Warnes, UK Head of Education, Skills and Productivity at KPMG, said: “The new year has seen the jobs market continuing where it left off, with a steep climb in permanent and temporary hiring.”
“It will be important to monitor how these dynamic features of the job market respond to the competing pressures being felt by both businesses and candidates – the desire to make the most of the reduction in COVID restrictions on the one hand; and the understandable concern over the cost of living and inflationary rises on the other.”
Warnes added: “Some sectors are continuing to show the strain of high demand for permanent and temporary roles. In particular, the IT and Computing, and Nursing, Healthcare and Medical sectors saw the greatest vacancy increases for yet another month, reflecting the significant workforce and skills challenges which these sectors have faced, and which the pandemic has accelerated.”
