As salaries surge to match inflation, so businesses are shifting hiring away from the capital. In my previous post, recruitment is tidal, I referenced that in terms of macro job flow, what we are seeing is that 2023 is now mirroring 2019. However, there is one key distinction in that whilst activity in London is flat (vacancies in 2023 are currently on track to match 2019 exactly) outside the capital, we are seeing growth of 25.6% in terms of the monthly average, when comparing this year, to 2019, before COVID.
Although the economic slowdown is impacting Law Firm recruitment overall, Litigation/Dispute resolution is an area which is less dependent on the economic cycle than others, as a result, this has become the second largest area law firms have been recruiting for this year, according to the latest legal report by Search and labour market data analysts Vacancysoft.
At first glance, 2023 looks pretty bleak. After all, there has been a dip in vacancies, year on year, of 34% in terms of the monthly average. Businesses which for the last two years were just non-stop recruiting, this year have suddenly slowed down and for recruiters, there are many who are still adapting to this reality…