• Swindon & Wiltshire Economy
• Wednesday September 10 2025

Demand for permanent workers in South declines at fastest rate since June 2020

Hiring activity has continued to weaken across the South of England in August, with further reductions in both permanent staff appointments and temp billings, according to the latest UK Report on Jobs from accountants KPMG and The Recruitment and Employment Confederation.

The drop in hiring activity across the South of England coincided with reports of reduced demand for staff amid ongoing uncertainty around the economic outlook.

Vacancies for both permanent and temporary positions continued to fall sharply.

meanwhile, redundancies and fewer job opportunities contributed to steeper increases in the availability of candidates, while the supply of permanent workers expanded at the quickest rate since November 2020.

Improved candidate numbers and tighter hiring budgets placed downward pressure on both starting salaries and temp pay, with the former falling for the first time in six months.

August survey data pointed to a sustained reduction in demand for permanent workers in the South of England, with the rate of decline the steepest since June 2020.

Commenting on the latest survey results David Williams, Bristol office senior partner at KPMG UK, said: “Hiring activity across the South of England continues to face headwinds, with August marking another steep decline in both permanent placements and temp billings. The South once again recorded the sharpest falls in job vacancies across the UK.

“At the same time, the supply of candidates has risen notably, driven by redundancies and concerns over job security.

“With more talent entering the market and starting pay softening – particularly for permanent positions – South West employers may find a strategic opportunity to fill critical roles at more sustainable salary levels. But with hiring confidence still fragile, many businesses remain cautious about committing to fresh investment.”

REC chief executive Neil Carberry, said: “All eyes are now on the Autumn Budget, in hope now that the Chancellor won’t do any further damage to the labour market with costs on hiring.

“For the economy to thrive, the Budget must recognise the need for investment in people. Long-term investment in skills, workforce stability, a more practical approach to the Employment Right Bill and meaningful partnerships with employers will yield far more enduring returns than short-term fixes.”

Dan Barfoot, operations manager at CMD Recruitment, who contributes to the report, said: “I think people have got over the holiday period, and are only really looking for a new job if feeling pushed due to a risk of redundancies or uncertainty of the business.

“This means they have the dilemma of risk or safety: if they have been in the role over two years do they just ride it out even if they aren’t happy. or risk a change which sees them come under the two years of service again?

“Companies are still hiring, but a little slower. With the autumn budget coming it’s the reality of the true cost to hire someone.”

Image by Tim Gouw at Pexels