Jobs market showing greater stability – Recruitment and Employment Confederation

The jobs market is showing greater stability, according to the latest Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) Lightcast monthly Labour Market Tracker.

The number of overall active job postings in February 2025 was 1,550,191 – an increase of 0.1% on the number of job postings in January 2025.

The number of new job postings in February 2025 was 681,898 – down by 10.8% from January 2025.

But a drop in new postings compared to January 2025 was expected, as there is a traditional upturn in hiring at the very start of the year, and February is a shorter month which includes a school holiday week.

The number of overall active job postings in January 2025 was up 7.2% on the number of job postings in December 2024.

That marked the first time job postings have risen since June 2024.

The number of new job postings in January was up by 34.4% on December 2024, which compared favourably to the 27.9% increase in new postings in January 2024.

Neil Carberry, chief executive at REC, said: “Firms have been working hard to find growth in the face of rising costs since the Budget, and it is reassuring that some are now feeling more ready to hire.

“Growing stability of demand will reassure recruiters and policymakers, given the challenging outlook for business on National Insurance hikes, wage increases, global political shifts, and uncertainty about the future impact of the Employment Rights Bill.

“The significant increase in construction job adverts is notable given recent concerns about the strength of this bellwether sector.

“The same applies to the substantial rise in adverts for parts of the under-pressure hospitality sector.

“We await a sustained recovery in IT recruitment, but there are still opportunities for such workers with 30,000 job postings for Programmers and Software Development Professionals and nearly 12,000 for IT Business Analysts, Architects and Systems Designers.

“The Government must deliver a Spring Statement that is not only optimistic but also lays out a clear long-term growth strategy to unlock more of the latent demand for hiring and investment that we believe is out there.

“Achieving this requires working in partnership with business to close skills gaps, drive innovation, and expand job opportunities.

“Government should deliver a great pitch and let business take care of the result.”