REC response to ONS labour market figures, May 2026

The ONS published its latest labour market figures this morning. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) Chief Executive Neil Carberry said:

“This is a jobs market waiting for a signal. It has trended gently downwards over the past few months as uncertainty is high, but underlying growth has been reassuring. Releasing corporate and household cash reserves to work in our economy is the only way to get moving. That requires a shot of confidence that isn’t there right now due to the crisis in the Gulf, domestic political uncertainty and the huge government-imposed rises in the cost of employment firms have faced.

“Redundancy rates remain higher than a year ago, while vacancies remain lower than they have been for some time. Wages have also moderated, which suggests that the external price shock of this spring is unlikely to be embedded domestically by rising wages.

“The UK now needs a more pragmatic approach to labour market policy to support business confidence, including a rethink of measures such as guaranteed hours requirements, which risks becoming a costly misstep by raising business costs and pushing workers into less secure forms of employment.”