Are retailers moving HQ jobs from London for good?

Are retailers moving HQ jobs from London for good?

For retail and consumer goods and services, 2023 has proven to be a challenging year. The impact of the changes to VAT has meant that as tourism has returned, the luxury goods sector has flatlined, despite London having more tourists than ever. At the same time, quantitative tightening has resulted in challenges to household liquidity, which has meant there has been downward pressure on disposable incomes.

Year in Review Magazine: Technology & Transformation in the UK

Year in Review Magazine: Technology & Transformation in the UK

Every generation bears witness to a technological jump which has the capacity to change the way we work. For example, from the first generation of mobile phones in the 1980s, through to smart phones and mobile devices this has transformed the way we do business. Nonetheless, we have seen increasing numbers of jobs displaced as different technologies have achieved scale.

Year in Review: UK Regional Labour Market Trends, January 2024

Year in Review: UK Regional Labour Market Trends, January 2024

In a sign of the times, industrial engineering, which encompasses aerospace and defence, has proven to be the top performing industry this past year, up 21% on 2022. At the same time the impact of quantitative tightening on the London market has been felt heavily across both finance and technology. As a result, vacancies in the capital are down 40% on the prior year.

London – UK Regional Labour Market Trends, December 2023

London – UK Regional Labour Market Trends, December 2023

Despite a 39% decrease in recruitment patterns in London in 2023 compared to the previous year, the city maintains a pivotal position in professional opportunities, expected to contribute 34% of the UK’s vacancies, emphasizing its crucial role in the national job market. This is according to the latest UK National Labour Market Trends report by APSCo and labour market data analysts Vacancysoft.

Is London about to bounce back?

Is London about to bounce back?

As the dust settles on the decision to cancel HS2, while the political fallout may prove high across the regions, the economic consequences are still unclear. By the same token, what is clear is the fact that over the past five years, the trend of regionalisation has taken effect and increasingly, businesses are expanding teams away from the capital. In 2023 this trend has seen a high point, in the sense that 64% of all vacancies in the private sector can now be found outside the capital, up from 56% pre-pandemic.