Fears of a recession and falling confidence in the economy is slowing the job market, but DERIN CLARK reports, the picture looks different in East Anglia.

Despite warnings of a slowing job market, East Anglia's recruitment specialists claim need for new workers in the region is as strong as ever.

A report from KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) said that July saw the slowest increase in permanent placements for 17 months and demand for staff was rising at its softest rate since March 2021.

Falling confidence in the economy and the prospect of a recession may be contributing to bosses hesitancy to hire more staff.

Although there is a slowdown, Kate Shoesmith, deputy chief executive at REC, said that the UK jobs market remains "solid".

She said: "Demand for staff continues to rise, as it has done since early 2021, rising in every sector. Starting salaries are still growing too, making this a good time for jobseekers to be looking for their next role.

“However, growth in permanent hiring has softened in recent months. We’ve seen that rising fuel and energy prices, inflation and labour shortages are impacting employer confidence.

"Labour and skills shortages are also restricting opportunities for both the private and public sector to meet consumer demand.

"Our latest report shows that these constraints could cost the UK economy up to £39bn a year if we don’t work to fix these issues now."

Recruitment specialists in East Anglia, however, are seeing a different picture with bosses in Norfolk and Suffolk continuing to seek and recruit new staff.

Tom Ginn, managing director of the Norwich-based recruitment agency Bread Hospitality, which specialises in recruiting for the hospitality sector in the East of England, said the number of firms hiring is "is as high as it has ever been".

Mr Ginn added that tourism in Norfolk and Suffolk remains strong which is driving the need to hire more staff.

"As people are becoming more stretched financially they are choosing to stay in the UK rather than going away," he said.

"Cancelled flights and reports of five hour queues at airports this summer are also impacting people's decision to stay in the UK.

"The clients we speak to are as busy, if not busier, than last year."

Mr Ginn also highlighted that the hospitality industry lost "thousands" of workers during the pandemic.

"There are still way more jobs than candidates," he added.

Rebecca Headden, co-director of Norwich-based recruitment agency R13, said that although she has seen some slow down it is natural for this time of year.

"It’s holiday season – people are away, so not available to conduct interviews," she said.

"Roles are placed on hold until people are back in the office.

"In terms of sectors, we are still seeing the majority of our client base continue to hire, and plan to hire into the latter part of the year – right now.

"That may be subject to change, but we can but see."

Mr Ginn is also confident that the hospitality sector will need to continue hiring for the rest of the year.

"The tourism sector in Norfolk and Suffolk are seeing strong bookings for October and November, which is usually a quieter period," he said.

"So demand for staff is going to remain high."

The report from KPMG and REC found that the firms looking to hire are still struggling to recruit.

During the pandemic a high number of people left the job market, with large numbers taking the opportunity to cut down on their hours, re-train for different careers or retire.

This led to companies fighting to attract new workers and many businesses in East Anglia hiring talent remains one of their key issues.

For businesses struggling to recruit, Ms Headden recommends an overhaul of their hiring strategy.

She said: "Some employers have adopted a slightly extended strategy – incorporating more process – more stages – across all levels of role.

"This can work but some of those employers are on occasion – being left disappointed, as other businesses are being more agile in their approach and jumping on the people they meet and love.

"Good advise to be considerate and transparent about what to expect within a process – understand that people want to feel engaged, to buy into a companies process and culture.

"Having extended periods of time without comms between stages can leave people feeling disengaged and switched off."