Settling inflation, confidence and the permanent HR recruitment marketplace.

As I write this ( 17/07/24 ) we have had confirmation that inflation has held steady, again at target, 2%.

As the BBC report below describes, households are still feeling the pinch, prices are rising in services and it is a complicated picture. Many are for the first time predicting an interest rate cut in August however.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ck7gzllwlmlo

Our two areas of expertise are HR and Commercial recruitment. Both are impacted by the wider economic outlook, but it is the HR market which is most vulnerable, particularly in permanent recruitment at mid to senior level.

I have observed through my career that confident markets, with affordable investment finance, is vital for thriving permanent HR recruitment marketplace. With stability, economic growth and confidence comes investment, start-up business and new HR functions. This delivers new opportunity which attracts people from established teams into those roles and fuels the whirlwind of movement, which ultimately is the permanent HR Market place. Without the new opportunity, the whirlwind subsides.

This may seem obvious, but the HR Market place is particularly vulnerable. In our commercial practise, it is noticeable that businesses are more likely to invest, hire and replace leavers in their Sales, account management and marketing functions even in an uncertain climate.

So, I am feeling very positive about the short to medium term outlook for the permanent HR recruitment market place. The summer period does slow movement down a little, but by September, we could see some movement on interest rates, a period of recent stability, confidence and I think an improvement in vacancy numbers.