With the general election now behind us, the UK economy is showing signs of acceleration. Economists are already revising their forecasts on GDP growth for this year, and the fact that Starmer has won with such a significant mandate means that there is certainty about what lies ahead for business.
With the UK still experiencing lower levels of labour market economic activity than before the pandemic, the North East faces the challenge of a growing divergence in growth compared to the southern regions of the country.
The symbiotic relationship between London and the South East has only strengthened in recent years, as the region has become a leading global hub for the high-tech industry. However, looking at this year so far, the region has experienced a slump in jobs and recruitment, especially compared to the peak of the post-pandemic period.
After the technical recession in 2023, which led to vacancies dropping in the region compared to 2022, we have seen a bounce back in Q1 so far, culminating in an uplift of 7.6% which compares favorably to the national figures (+5.4%.) As a result, the region now accounts for 6.7% of the national total in terms of vacancies, up from 5.8% in 2022.
Post-pandemic economy shifting from London: HQ function vacancies down to 41.2% from 47.8% in 2019.
Job vacancies in 2023 fall by 23.7% compared to 2022, according to the latest UK Labour Market Trends report by leading professional body APSCo and labour market data analysts Vacancysoft.
