KPMG and REC have recently released the UK Report on Jobs: National. This report looks at both the positive and negative trends in recruitment for all sectors, including Social Care, and how this relates to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Please find below some of the key highlights from the report:

• The number of permanent placements rises marginally…
• … while temp billings expand at the sharpest pace since October 2018
• Total demand for staff rises for the first time in three months
• Permanent Placement Index up from 48.2 in November to 51.5 in December
• Temporary Billings Index up from 56.1 in November to 57.9 in December

Commenting on the latest survey results, James Stewart, Vice Chair at KPMG, said: “The emergence of a vaccine did bring more confidence to the jobs market in December with a small increase in permanent appointments. Temporary billings were also sharply up across the UK although London was a notable exception. However, we will have to see what January brings with a new national lockdown sure to fuel economic uncertainty, alongside preparing and adapting to the new relationship with the EU. But with the UK leading the way on the vaccine roll out and continued government financial support, there is hopefully light at the end of the tunnel for both business and job seekers.”

Also commenting is Neil Carberry, CEO of the REC: “The biggest expansion in temporary recruitment since October 2018 shows how important the flexible jobs market is to that performance. Growing permanent placements and starting pay also emphasised the resilience of our economy. The important thing now is to maintain as much of that momentum as possible through the new lockdown. With business cashflows under renewed pressure, helping employers protect and create jobs is essential.”

Andrew Brindley, Director of AJ Recruitment: “December has shown us there has been a high demand for high quality temporary social care workers. It can also be noted that carers and care managers were also in short supply, a trend that has increased over the past few months. We have seen this trend continue here at AJ Recruitment, no doubt this could be driven by staff absence caused by COVID, which is in part true, however, the bigger picture is that 1 in 11 jobs was vacant before the coronavirus pandemic and its likely to be similar levels now. We are expecting to see another jump in demand for temporary staff as organisations prepare for life after the vaccine, and we will start to see community-based services opening back up. There is a light at the end of the tunnel now and although we will have some difficult times ahead together, we will be able to beat COVID and move forward into 2021.” 

This report on jobs allows you to benchmark your business against the backdrop of the wider economy. I hope you find it useful to help you measure and understand where Social Care as a sector sits against the wider picture.

How can we help?

We want to let you know that we are here to support you, and if you would like to discuss the findings in the above report, or about how we can collaborate, please let us know. To get in touch, email recruitment@ajrecruitment.com

As a specialist, family-run recruitment business, we provide a proactive and consultative approach to recruitment. We help organisations to target issues such as continuity of staffing, reducing spend where you have a high volume of agency usage and supporting those who have specific talent requirements or are in hard to fill locations. We can help with any immediate staffing requirements or longer-term recruitment projects to ultimately save you time and money on agency spend.

Click here to see what our clients say about how we have supported them throughout the pandemic.