2018’s job market has had a healthy start, as Totaljobs reports there to have been a record-breaking number of jobs advertised comparatively between the 1^st – 7^th January totalling 54,000 jobs, which is 20% (9,000) more jobs than the same week in 2017.

With the giant Carillion falling into liquidation creating nervousness and upset for many people, these statistics are very optimistic and show that there is hiring growth in many areas.

Key industries increasing their footholds in the UK job market include Office Support roles and Customer Services, these were the two fastest moving industries in the first week of 2018.

London and the Midlands kept in standing with UK-wide trends, showing massive increases in the education (+112%) and finance (+61%) sectors, as well as smaller increases in both banking and legal professions.

There are expected to be three key trends that dominate the jobs market and employment landscape in 2018 which are:

Improving productivity in the workplace

Industries and companies, according to the government, may be looking towards AI in order to address the low UK productivity levels that are currently being recorded. Though beneficial to productivity, this may impact employment in certain sectors.

Closing the skills gap

Due to forthcoming Brexit, changes to the free movement of labour may widen an already growing skills gap, meaning that many employers could be looking towards interim candidates and the gig economy to close these gaps with contract and freelance workers.

A more equal and diverse workforce

The need to report gender pay gaps by companies with over 250 employees by April 2018 means employees may be demanding more of their employers during this year. Companies will have to confront the issues surrounding unequal pay and counteract the possibility of resignations from female employees looking to find better paid roles. There will also be more questions asked about equal pay regarding ethnicity and sexual orientations.

At SF Recruitment we have certainly been kept busy with new projects and assignments so far in 2018, so if you’re looking for a new role within either  a permanent or interim capacity with the professional services landscape, please click here to view what roles we have available.