After a protracted slowdown in the post pandemic period, the life sciences sector is finally springing back to life. July was the record month this year so far and the signs are positive looking forward. In terms of what had caused the lull, it is worth factoring that with the UK leaving the EU this had meant that the MHRA had to take over regulatory approvals for new trials, and this process has taken time to bed in.
The transactional nature of the London Law Firms means that activity here acts as a good barometer into confidence in the economy. Increases in Law Firm hiring typically can be directly linked to greater demand for their services, either from the Banks, on the one hand, or the Real Estate sector on the other. Therefore the fact that over the last three months, vacancies have been higher this year, than in both 2022 and 2023, is a positive sign, reinforced by a general consensus that the UK economy is performing better than many anticipated, which is reflected in GBP strengthening.
As the UK economy adjusts to a new equilibrium as a result of the change in Government, there have been positive signs of a rebounding in recruitment. Nonetheless, it is worth mentioning that a fair amount of the July hiring was due to vacancies being deferred from earlier in spring, as companies waited on the result of the election. Once the Labour Party was confirmed as having won, companies removed the hiring freeze and moved ahead with the vacancies they had planned for.
Within a week of coming to power, Starmer committed to stand with Ukraine, for as long as it takes. As part of that he then committed to new package of artillery and brimstone missiles to be delivered shortly, as well as placing a new order for soviet era ammunition, to help bolster Ukraine’s defences. Hence, the bounce seen across the UK economy in July, was most pronounced in Aerospace & Defence, with vacancies rising month to month by over 40%, and hitting levels last seen in November last year.
For everyone involved in IT recruitment, the burst of activity seen in July was a welcome relief, as vacancies ended up hitting levels not seen since Q1. Indeed, the final total for the month, was the third highest since April 2023. Nonetheless, the pragmatists will recognize that the general election being announced in May, resulted in many businesses deferring investment decisions, including hiring, until after the result, which had meant that Q2 was materially quieter than Q1. So the burst in July could just be the result of that pent up demand being recognized.
