UK Labour Market – Job Demand Continues

In September’s release of figures from ONS – covering the UK Labour Market – there is not a huge change overall with the employment market remaining stable and another slight decrease in unemployment.

However, scratching beneath the surface to look at specific sectors reveals an extremely interesting picture and one borne out in Gi Group UK’s experiences on a day-to-day basis.

Commenting on the latest figures released Gi Group UK’s CEO Bev White said “Unsurprisingly given recent headlines, the traditional retail sector* is suffering terribly – with 73,000 less jobs than at the comparative point last year. Conversely, most other industries are growing strongly. Indeed, in the manufacturing sector, a sector in which Gi Group UK has significant experience of, there were 32,000 more jobs in June 2018 than we saw in June 2017. This certainly reflects the continued demand from our clients for temporary and permanent labour in this field.”

“This trend also suggests that the widely publicised risk of Artificial Intelligence threatening jobs in manufacturing, while not without credibility looking forward, may be slightly premature.”

*Wholesale retail and motor repairs