Graduate jobs at ‘weakest level since 2018’ as Reeves’ taxes rattle firms
Graduate jobs are now at their “weakest level since at least 2018”, fresh data has suggested, as Chancellor Reeves’ tax hikes on employers have made bosses avoid hiring junior workers.
The UK government has made job creation a crucial part of its efforts to grow the economy and improve living standards for Brits after years of stagnation.
But new data analysis by jobs platform Indeed has suggested that job postings have continued to decline after Reeves’ £20bn hike to employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) kicked into effect in April.
Graduate jobs are now down 12 per cent compared to last June, more than double the percentage decline in overall job postings.
Indeed analysts also said the UK was now the only developed country to have job postings remain below pre-pandemic levels, with levels around 21 per cent below that seen at the beginning of February 2020.
Job postings were especially low in HR, marketing and media, according to internal analysis, while lower vacancy levels were also recorded in the hospitality and retail sectors.
AI gains threaten jobs market
Indeed’s data provides somewhat grimmer reading for Treasury officials than that published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which said earlier this month that vacancies in the first quarter of this year were 7.4 per cent below the first three months of 2020.
The ONS also revealed that total vacancies were down 16.9 per cent year-on-year, though Bank of England officials have said they were relying on their own estimates to make judgements on monetary policy given the unreliability of the official stats body’s jobs surveys.
Indeed also found that businesses were pre-empting radical changes proposed in the Employment Rights Bill, with the share of job postings mentioning zero-hour contracts beginning to fall.
Fewer firms were offering work-from-home opportunities, though figures remained high including in banking and finance despite widespread reports of bosses’ calls for employees to return to the office.
Jack Kennedy, senior economist at Indeed, said the job platform’s latest analysis showed the labour market was seeing “continued gradual softening rather than a nosedive”.
“Despite the UK labour market holding out overall, new entrants like graduates face a challenging time in securing a first rung on the ladder,” Kennedy said.
“This signals a wider landscape of employers holding onto existing staff, while some observers contend that entry-level roles in professional occupations are particularly exposed to AI displacement.”
Separate data released by Lloyds suggested businesses were doubling down on rolling out AI tools as four in five businesses which already used it said the technology increased productivity.
More than three quarters of firms surveyed by the Big Four bank said AI also boosted profitability in what may be a further sign white-collar workers are at increased risk given the high costs of hiring more staff.