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While many questions continue to be asked about what effects the cost-of-living crisis and the war in Ukraine will likely have on the economy and jobs situation in the UK, there was at least good news on that front during March.
Positive findings from a leading business index
According to an index measuring business sentiment reported by The Guardian, last month saw employment growth in the UK return to pre-pandemic levels.
The index for March found that senior managers at UK companies reported the quickest growth in the labour market since February 2020. This meant that the index increased for the fifth month in a row to a reading of 112.74, which was two points higher than in February. Any reading of more than 95 is considered to be growth.
The newspaper added that the manufacturing and services industries were the keenest on recruiting new staff, with their optimism outweighing concerns among businesses in general about the continuing pressures on supply chains.
What do the findings say about the UK’s employment situation right now?
Although many observers might consider it firmly good news that the UK labour market is emerging in such strong form from the pandemic after the loosening of restrictions, there are fears that rising inflation, the sustained high cost of living, and broader geopolitical factors could effectively stop such growth in its tracks.
Anecdotally and in the press, we’ve seen and heard reports of businesses becoming distracted from growth and having to ‘fire-fight’ to stay alive, especially as coronavirus support schemes have been withdrawn over time.
These latest figures do, though, back up existing perceptions that the first few months of the year were strong ones for the UK labour market. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), for example, estimate the UK unemployment rate to have been 3.8% in the three months from December 2021 to February 2022, which is 0.1 percentage points below the levels seen before the pandemic.
But while a competitive labour market has helped drive up wages, with firms offering more generous pay in order to attract and keep hold of workers, there are concerns among economists of these rises being offset by increasing inflation and escalating energy prices.
We can be your tax, accounting and payroll partners
Whatever your firm can do to relieve the burden on some aspects of its operations right now, you are likely to at least consider steps to that end. Here at TS Partners, however, we can be allies of your business in times both good and bad, providing a wide variety of acclaimed accounting and payroll services in Plymouth, Wellington and Newton Abbot.
Reach out to our team today, and we will be pleased to advise you on how our knowhow and experience could help your business to survive, thrive and grow in the weeks, months and even years ahead – irrespective of the challenges the economy and labour market bring.
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