Last week we published the findings of our annual report, analysing the UK Labour Market and were delighted to be joined by industry leaders where we both shared our findings and had a lively panel discussion where we discussed the economic climate, the impact of geopolitical factors and what we think it all means, for this coming year.

The panel included Ann Swain, CEO of APSCo, Kalpesh Baxi, Managing Director of Baxfield, and Matt Gallivan, Head of Sales at JobAdder, and the presentation featured reports produced in partnership with APSCo, Robert Walters, CPL, Morgan Mckinley, EJ Legal, Harrison Holgate, Macdonald & Co and JobAdder.

Key findings emerging from the day included:

• There is a feeling that outside of retail & hospitality, the budget’s impact is starting to be priced in and there is an element of normality returning. Increased labour costs will accelerate a move to AI and automation generally and certain sectors are already witnessing the change.
• While the industrial strategy has yet to be formally announced, it is clear the Government will prioritise AI, Defence, Energy and Real Estate over other areas.
• For Professional Services, regulatory changes mean they will remain busy. For Financial Services, the industry is contracting, due lots of long term factors, but AI and automation has a big part to play.
• The Technology Industry has picked up again, and it is scale ups which are growing the fastest. London is taking the lions share of the growth. AI & Data roles in particular are growing the fastest.
• The STEM industries are likely to grow, but the biggest constraint remains skill shortages and it is in Engineering in particular, the UK is struggling to meet this gap. Defence in particular is likely to surge as the geopolitical situation unfolds.

Looking ahead, there was optimism for the year ahead, but this is couched by the concerns around what the new world order could mean, now Trump is rewriting the global rule book, to suit his MAGA agenda. What role the UK will play is an open question. However, in terms of the macro economics, now the inflationary impact of the budget is being priced in, in terms of what we are expecting to see:

• Some changes between now and April in regards to the Budget, to make it more business friendly
• GBP strengthening against both the USD / EURO which will act to depress inflation
• The Bank of England actively reducing interest rates to enable faster growth

If you were unable to come and would like to receive a copy of the magazine, you can download it from here: