2023 felt like the year of layoffs. But as we kick off the new year, new data from global HR company, Deel’s annual state of global hiring report reveals that terminations in the first half of January alone are outpacing the end of 2023. In December 2023, about 40% of all contracts ended were terminations, and that figure is hovering at around 60% so far in January.
In spite of this, the report, which aggregates tech data from Deel’s 300k+ contracts and 20,000+ customers across more than 160 countries (as well as over 500,000 data points from third-party sources), shows that there are still opportunities in the UK market.
The data reveals that:
There are opportunities for job seekers in the UK
-
- Whilst the latest ONS data shows signs that the jobs market is stalling, the hiring of UK talent by international companies increased by 8.4% in 2023
- Salaries are continuing to rise globally, but not always in the roles you may expect. Teaching saw the largest increase in salary in 2023 with a 24% rise, whilst sales teams saw an 8% pay increase.
- In the UK customer success saw 56% increase, teaching 25% rise and marketing saw a 16% increase.
As businesses look to keep pace with the acceleration of new technologies like AI, we’ve seen a shift in the most sought after roles
-
- Data Analyst, Tutor, Software Engineer, Software Developer, and Back-End Developer are some of the most sought-after roles by UK companies, according to the 2023 report
- But as competition for job roles rises, employees are going to be laser-focused on upskilling programmes
Taking advantage of remote working, talent is also on the move.
-
- In 2023, the UK ranked as the fourth most sought-after destination for visa applications, behind the UAE, Netherlands and France
- UK talent was mostly likely to be hired by companies in the US, UK, Sweden, Canada and France
- London maintained its position as the most popular city for international workers, ahead of Toronto, San Francisco, Buenos Aires, and Madrid
Matt Monette, Country Lead & Head of Expansion UK & Ireland at Deel, said:
“2023 was not an easy hiring market to navigate – with economic uncertainty, large rounds of redundancies and a lack of long-term market visibility causing a stir in the labour market.
“While many are hoping 2024 will be a year of building, we’ve already seen that terminations in the first half of January alone are outpacing the end of 2023. That being said, in the UK we’re seeing some signs to be optimistic – salaries on the up and we’re seeing ample opportunities for jobseekers in roles such as Data Analyst, Software Engineer and Software Developer.
“The challenge ahead will be in how people leaders find the skills needed for these open roles. We’ll see more hiring managers turn to hiring from abroad this year to help close skills gaps in critical areas like AI and data analysis. And, as hiring managers look to update their hiring practices, it’ll be important that UK businesses look to widen the talent pools they’re searching from and that they’re implementing tailored learning and development programmes to support in upskilling and retaining existing top talent”.
