Hiring intentions rise to 10-year high

Hiring intentions for the next year climbed to the highest level since 2015, despite cost pressures, according to the latest Lloyds Business Barometer. The third consecutive monthly increase was driven by the services sector, which helped offset softer hiring signals in retail and manufacturing. Sixty per cent of all businesses surveyed expect to hire more … Continued

UK sees ‘small burst’ in hiring in sign of growth

A ‘small burst of hiring’ meant that new UK job postings went up by just over 6% in June, according to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation’s Labour Market Tracker. The number of posts was behind the number measured a year ago, but some regions including London and the South East showed higher numbers than last … Continued

Construction growth gathers momentum

Latest bulletin from the Office for National Statistics shows that monthly construction output in Great Britain is estimated to have grown by 0.9% in April 2025. This is the third consecutive month of growth for the industry, following increases of 0.5% in March and 0.2% in February. The increase in monthly output in April 2025 … Continued

UK manufacturing shrinks again but may be ‘turning a corner’

The UK manufacturing sector shrank again last month but may be “turning a corner”, according to new figures. Factories saw the recent downturn linked to trade tensions, US tariffs and higher costs slow down during May but highlighted that confidence was still “subdued”. The S&P Global UK manufacturing PMI survey, watched closely by economists, showed a reading … Continued

Services sector returns to growth in major boost to UK economy

Britain’s services sector returned to tepid growth last month after jitters about Donald Trump’s tariffs caused the sector to shrink in April for the first time in a year and a half. The closely-watched S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index for Britain’s services sector increased to 50.9 in May from 49.0 in April, and above an … Continued

UK to spend billions on job training to cut reliance on migrant workers

LONDON (Reuters) –Britain will spend a record 3 billion pounds to boost training opportunities, the government said on Tuesday, part of a broader strategy to train locals to fill gaps in the labour market and reduce reliance on foreign workers. The investment will “refocus the skills landscape towards young, domestic talent” by creating 120,000 new … Continued

Over-50s support could help lower unemployment rate, experts say

Supporting people aged 50 and over into work could help solve the productivity and unemployment crisis, experts have said. The most recent Office for National Statistics (ONS) labour market data published yesterday (13 May) revealed that the UK’s unemployment rate has hit a four-year high. The rate of unemployment was 4.5% between January and March 2025. This … Continued

UK economy grew more quickly than forecast in early 2025

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s economy unexpectedly grew in March to push up output over the first quarter of 2025 by the most in a year, according to official data on Thursday that will be welcomed by finance minister Rachel Reeves. Gross domestic product expanded by 0.2% in March from February. Economists polled by Reuters had … Continued