UK recruitment consultancies registered a further marked increase in hiring activity during February, according to the latest KPMG and REC, UK Report on Jobs survey. That said, permanent staff appointments expanded at the softest rate for 11 months, while temp billings growth also slowed, as panel members stated that candidate shortages restricted their ability to fill roles. Notably, total candidate availability declined at a sharp and accelerated rate that was the quickest since last November. At the same time, vacancy growth picked up to a three-month high. A combination of robust demand for workers and low supply led to further upward pressure on rates of starting pay. Salaries for new permanent joiners rose at the second-fastest rate in over 24 years of data collection, while temp pay also increased sharply.

The report is compiled by IHS Markit from responses to questionnaires sent to a panel of around 400 UK recruitment and employment consultancies.

Softer, but still rapid increase in hiring activity – UK recruitment consultancies recorded a further robust increase in hiring activity during February amid reports of rising workloads at clients and greater confidence in the outlook. That said, permanent placement growth eased to an 11-month low and temp billings also expanded at a softer pace, with recruiters frequently stating that candidate shortages had limited their ability to fill roles.

Derby’s 180 years of rail heritage and deep-rooted culture of future rail innovation make it the ideal central location for the new Great British Railways (GBR) headquarters, according to those behind the bid. GBR will be the new public body responsible for running Britain’s railways. It will integrate the railways across the country, owning the infrastructure, collecting fare revenue, running and planning the network, and setting most fares and timetables. On 4 October 2021, the Secretary of State for Transport announced that a competition will take place to find a location for the headquarters outside of London. Historical ties with railways and good train connectivity to other places are among the criteria which will be used to decide the winner. Derby’s bid has the backing of councils across the East Midlands including Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Leicester and Leicestershire, representing over three million people from across the region. Councillor Chris Poulter, Leader of Derby City Council, who are leading the bid, said: “Rail is in the blood of many generations of people in Derby, who are naturally proud of our rich and deep-rooted rail heritage. My own father spent the whole of his working life at the Derby Loco Works and the smell of engine oil still lingers strong in my memory. “The home of the railways should also have an eye to the future and this is where Derby can excel. It is a centre for rail excellence and innovation, with a strong supply chain to support a large, diverse rail cluster. “We are the natural home for the first national headquarters of Great British Railways. Derby and all our partners in the East Midlands makes us the best placed region to meet GBR’s requirements and levelling up needs.” Paul Simpson, Derby City Council Chief Executive, said: “Derby has a near 200-hundred-year legacy as being the centre for the rail industry and geographically sits in heart of UK rail network. “Rail is embedded in our culture and as a city we’re home to Europe’s largest and most diverse rail cluster. We have a highly skilled and talented workforce, as we’re home to leading innovating businesses, including Alstom, Rolls-Royce and Toyota. “The move would offer a unique opportunity for the Government to collaborate with the rail industry, as well as supporting the levelling up agenda for the city. With backing from our people and our Local Authority partners across the East Midlands, we’re determined to prove that Derby is the right home for GBR.” GBR can benefit greatly from being located at the heart of Britain’s rail industry. Over 11,000 workers are employed in Europe’s largest and most diverse rail cluster. Centred around Derby it covers every aspect of railway building, maintenance and operation. Derby is home to major players in the automotive and aviation industry including Rolls-Royce and Toyota making it uniquely placed for GBR to benefit from cross sector collaboration and a highly skilled workforce. Will Tanner, communications director at Alstom UK and Ireland, said that Derby was well placed to support the Government relocation. He said: “The business and national strategic case for locating Great British Railways in the city is very strong indeed and we are delighted that Derby is putting itself forward. Alstom is the UK’s leading train builder and maintainer and is proud to call Derby home. The city has been building trains for Britain and the world since 1839 and its still doing so today.” As the UK’s most central city, Derby is a prime location. Over six million people live within one hour’s travel time, it is well connected by train, car or plane. Situated on the River Derwent Derby is not only the gateway to the picturesque Peak District National Park but also part of the Derwent Valley Mills UNESCO World Heritage site. Just as Derby is a great opportunity for GBR, it’s also a great opportunity to level up the region. Derby currently has a low proportion of Government jobs, the lowest for a city of its size in the UK. Becoming the home of GBR would directly help level up the area by diversifying and strengthening the local economy. Government announced their commitment to move 22,000 civil service jobs out of London by the end of the decade. The relocations will be an opportunity to improve the capacity of the civil service, by helping to attract and retain talented staff across the whole of the UK and for decision-making to better reflect the whole population. Councillor Barry Lewis, Leader of Derbyshire County Council, said: “We fully support the bid to bring the national headquarters of Great British Railways to Derby and believe it is the ideal location, not only because of its historic associations with the railway and the vital role it plays in the rail industry today but also its geographical position in the national rail network and proximity to the M1. “The city and county are home to Europe’s largest cluster of rail engineering companies and it is the only place in the UK where you can design, test and manufacture a train all on the same site. “There are around 11,000 people working in the rail sector in the area boasting a diverse pool of expertise including cutting edge research in conjunction with the University of Derby on rail de-carbonisation and composite design. As part of the levelling up agenda this would be a major boost for the East Midlands region and a real opportunity.” Councillor Ben Bradley MP, Leader of Nottinghamshire County Council and Member of Parliament for Mansfield, said: “Derby is the obvious place to be the home of GBR, with its historic rail connections and proud heritage of manufacturing and engineering, including Alstom building trains that drive both the UK and also much of the rest of the world. I back this bid, my Council does in Notts too. The whole region is backing Derby. “With four new HS2 stations, including Derby, and billions of new rail investment coming to our region, the new hub of Great British Railways must be in the East Mids. It fits perfectly with our plans to boost investment and infrastructure by working together across the region, and with new powers related to rail set to be handed down to our area from Government. GBR should come to Derby.” Councillor Nicholas Rushton, Leader of Leicestershire County Council, said: “The city of Derby is the natural choice for the headquarters of GBR and all the East Midlands region is behind the bid.” John Forkin, Managing Director of Marketing Derby, added: “Derby is a can-do city that hosts one of the world’s largest rail clusters and I cannot think of a better home for the new Great British Railways. “From a Government perspective, it makes business sense and locating these jobs in the East Midlands would also contribute to the levelling up agenda.”

The Midlands has seen improvements to its female labour force participation rate, but decreases in the overall regional rating, according to this year’s Women in Work Index. The Index analyses female economic empowerment across 33 OECD countries. Since the Index began in 2010, the Midlands has seen a steady improvement in all five measured indicators. However, although the West Midlands has increased one place in this year’s Index rising from 12th to 11th place, the East Midlands has dropped from 5th place to 12th in this year’s overall rating. The Midlands labour force for women is held at 75%, higher than the national average of 74%. Whilst the gender pay gap in the West Midlands has reduced to 16%. Similarly, the West Midlands has also seen a decrease in its participation rate gap, decreasing from 11% to 9%, on par with the East Midlands. Yet, while the female unemployment rate remained the same at 5% in the West Midlands, it has increased by 1% in the East Midlands from 4% to 5%. Becky Clayton, Midlands consumer markets & industrial products/manufacturing partner at PwC, said: “The Index highlights the extent to which the pandemic has affected women in work, especially in the Midlands. It is pleasing to see an increase in the female labour force participation and a decrease in the gender pay gap, over the last ten years the Midlands has driven improvement across every indicator. “Yet, we have to address the very real impact of the pandemic on women in the region to continue to strive for progress, through continuing to invest in addressing inequality to create inclusive workplaces. “As we look to the future, we must continue to help create equal employment opportunities for women from all social backgrounds. We are pleased to be on the front foot of investment in the region, establishing a presence in the Midlands through our technology degree apprenticeship programme with Birmingham University and our support of the Tech She Can and Tech we Can programmes. “We are actively investing in local talent from a diverse range of backgrounds aiming to break down barriers to support social mobility and help people forge new career pathways. As the UK government continues to prioritise levelling-up to reduce regional social disparity, governments and businesses must continue to work together to empower women and create opportunities to support women in the workforce.” The UK moved up seven places on the Index for 2020, from 16th position in 2019 to ninth out of the 33 OECD countries. This puts the UK in the highest position among G7 countries. The average score among the 33 countries fell by half a point. The UK’s increase in the rankings was driven by a fall in the gender pay gap, jumping down 4% from 2019 to 2020, compared with the previous eight years in which it had only improved 2%. This is likely to be due to the short-term impact on male earnings in the pandemic and related job retention schemes. However the UK’s Office of National Statistics (ONS) indicates that the pay gap may have already widened again to 14% in 2021. The UK also saw a slight increase in full time employed females to 66% – although this still falls well below the OECD average of 76%. The 2022 edition of the Women in Work report also examines employment outcomes for women across different Ethnic Minority groups living in the UK, and shows that pre-existing labour market inequalities faced by Ethnic Minority women were exacerbated during the pandemic. In the UK, between July 2019 and September 2021, the unemployment rate for Ethnic Minority women rose by 2.3 percentage points (pp), compared to 0.2 pp for white women, 0.3pp for white men and 0.6 pp for Ethnic Minority men during the same period. Data shows that Ethnic Minority women are over-represented in insecure, low-paid jobs; and also experienced some of the largest percentage falls in employee numbers in contact-intensive sectors such as retail and hospitality which were heavily impacted by COVID-19 lockdowns and job losses. This inequality also extends to pay. In the UK, for every £1 earned by a white man, a woman from an Ethnic Minority with the same occupation and qualifications earns 87p, while a white woman earns 89p. Tara Shrestha Carney, economist at PwC, says: “These pay penalties provide compelling evidence that an individual’s race and gender, and the intersection of these two characteristics, are significant determining factors of pay and professional success. Our analysis factors in important individual and occupational drivers of earnings such as age, occupation, and qualifications. The implication is that we cannot fix employment and pay disparities by addressing skills gaps alone – there is a need to address the systemic and structural gender and racial inequality which exists in the labour market.” Furthermore, PwC’s analysis looks towards the future composition of work across the OECD, as the energy sector (responsible for 35% of all carbon emissions globally) transitions to net zero. There will be net job creation across OECD economies – with new green jobs concentrated in the utilities, construction and manufacturing sectors. These three sectors are all heavily male dominated – currently employing 31% of the male workforce across the OECD, but just over 11% of the female workforce. Ian Elliott, chief people officer at PwC UK, says: “It is incredibly disappointing to see the extent to which COVID-19 has started to reverse a decade of progress for women in work globally. While the UK has continued to make progress in many areas, this report shines a light on the extent to which inequalities persist and may even widen further without considered policy responses. It is clear that building a truly inclusive and equal workplace still requires significant focus and support from governments, policy-makers and businesses. “There is a clear need for investing in and providing upskilling and reskilling opportunities for women of all backgrounds. Creating more flexible working opportunities for both men and women – such as shared parental leave and affordable childcare – can also play a substantial role in reducing the inequalities around unpaid care and domestic work that remain for women.”