Employers in the UK have ambitious plans to increase headcount at a record rate in the third quarter of 2022. Businesses are aggressively recruiting following the pandemic, yet still struggling to fill vacancies. The national Outlook has reached an all-time high of +35% – a 22-percentage point increase compared to Q3 2021.
Firms in the Banking, Finance, Insurance, and Property sectors continue to lead the way, with hiring intentions of +49%, jumping 14 percentage points since last quarter. Businesses in IT and Technology remain committed to their recruitment efforts, increasing seven percentage points to +49% in the next three months. Manufacturing employers are also at the employment forefront, with a hiring intent of +38%, up 27 percentage points year on year.
Continuing the positive theme, employers in London are the most optimistic this quarter with hiring confidence jumping 10 percentage points since the last quarter, to +41%, fueled by the positive hiring intent of the Banking and Finance sector, IT and Tech.
The survey is based on responses from 2,030 UK employers and asks if they intend to hire additional workers, maintain current headcount, or reduce the size of their workforces in the coming quarter (July to September 2022). It is the most comprehensive, forward-looking employment survey of its kind and is used as a key economic indicator by both the Bank of England and UK Government.
