LinkedIn Workforce Report | United Kingdom | December 2017

Over 23 million workers in the UK have LinkedIn profiles. This means that we can see where 23 million members of the UK workforce are based, what companies they work for, and when they change jobs. We anonymise and aggregate this data to create unique insights into workforce trends.

The LinkedIn Workforce Report is a monthly report looking at hiring and professional migration trends in the UK, and this month’s report looks at the latest data from November 2017. This is our second Workforce Report for the UK, and also takes a comparative look at both data from October 2017 as well as that from the previous 12 months to benchmark our findings and identify trends.

LinkedIn’s vision is to create economic opportunity for every worker in the global workforce. We hope that the Workforce Report will be useful to our members, allowing you to better navigate your career, and to businesses and policy makers, who will be able use our insights to better inform their decisions on talent, migration, and employment.

Key Insights

Hiring is down month on month (MoM) in the UK as a whole, across all 12 nations and regions, and across the great majority of the sectors, according to seasonally adjusted (S.A.) data.

The National Hiring Rate slowed again, and more markedly, in November. The Hiring Rate is 10% lower than the previous month, using S.A. data.  

The Hiring Rate declined month on month in every UK region. The slowdown in hiring is quite consistent across England’s economic centres:  London, the West Midlands, The East Midlands, and the North West all saw similar declines in the Hiring Rate, down 9%, 9%, 9% and 10% Month on Month (MoM) respectively, driving the national average. Scotland saw the smallest fall in the Hiring Rate MoM, down 5%. 

Hiring in the majority of sectors is slowing. A decrease in the MoM Hiring Rate was evident across 20 of 22 reported sectors in November. The finance sector saw the Hiring Rate fall 6% from October to November, below the national average decline. The legal sector, and transport and logistics, both saw the smallest month on month fall, down only 1%. IT hardware and networking was the only sector to report an increase in the MoM Hiring Rate, up 3%.

Ten of 12 UK regions gained more talent from overseas than they lost. Only Northern Ireland and the North East saw a net loss of talent to overseas. London continues to draw the most net migration, both international and domestic, and it is one of three UK regions (2nd South West, 3rd North West) which were net recipients of combined domestic and international migration. 

The Hiring Rate

The seasonally-adjusted Hiring Rate for November was, at 1.04, 10% lower than in October, when it had also seen a MoM decline from September (of 5%).

Year on Year (YoY), hiring is up 9%, this is in comparison to the low rate seen at the end of 2016 that appears to have been impacted by the Brexit referendum. The national Hiring Rate of 0.98 was 10% higher this November versus November 2016.    

Regional Hiring Rates

Across the UK’s 12 nations and regions, the S.A. change in the Hiring Rate was negative MoM. Many of England’s regions saw similar declines of around a 9% decrease. The outlier this month was Scotland, which saw the smallest decline (down 5%). 

Notable regional activity this month includes:

London

Like the West Midlands, and the East Midlands, London  saw a decline in the S.A. Hiring Rate, down 9% Month on Month (MoM). The North West saw a similar decline (down 10%).  These regions drove the UK average this month. In London, the top sector for hiring was Finance, followed by Corporate Services, and Software & IT services.

The North West - The top sector for hiring was Corporate Services, followed by Software and IT and then Finance. 

The West Midlands - Manufacturing was the top sector for hiring, followed by Corporate Services.

The East Midlands - Top sectors for hiring were the same as in the West Midlands: Manufacturing, followed by Corporate Services.

Scotland - Scotland saw the smallest fall in the S.A. Hiring Rate MoM, down 5%. The top sectors for new hires were Energy and Mining, followed by Finance, and Corporate Services.

Other regions:

The East of England – The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate was down 12% in November, while the YoY Hiring Rate was up 11%. The top sectors for new hires were Corporate Services, Software and IT, Finance, and Manufacturing.

The North East -  The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate was down 7% versus October, the smallest fall in the country after Scotland. The YoY Hiring Rate was up 24% in November, continuing the positive growth registered the previous month and the best performance of any region. Manufacturing, Energy and Mining, and Corporate Services were the top sectors for new hires.

Northern Ireland - the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate was down 13% versus October. The YoY Hiring Rate was up 12% in November 2017. Hiring was led by Corporate Services, and Software and IT services.

South East - The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate was down 11% versus October. The YoY Hiring Rate was up 10% in November 2017. The main drivers of new hires in the South East were Software and IT Services.

South West - The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate was down 8% versus October. The YoY Hiring Rate was up 15% in November 2017. Corporate Services was the main sector for new hires, followed by Manufacturing, and Finance.

Wales - The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate was down 12% versus October. The YoY Hiring Rate was up 17% in November 2017. Manufacturing was the leading source of new hires, followed by Corporate Services and Construction.

Yorkshire and the Humber - The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate was down 14% versus October. The YoY Hiring Rate was up 14% in November 2017. Corporate Services was the leading driver of new hires, followed by Manufacturing.

Sector Hiring Rates

If we take a deep dive into the individual Hiring Rates for the different sectors, we are able to get a better understanding of the hiring changes that have been taking place within the economy. 

Legal

The Legal sector recorded one of the lowest S.A. MoM declines (of 1%) versus October. The sector also recorded the highest YoY increase in Hiring Rate in November of any sector, which, at 34%, places the sector well above the national average and suggests strong hiring compared with this period last year. The bulk of new hires (70%) were in law practice firms.

Energy and Mining

Energy and Mining recorded a S.A. MoM decline in the Hiring Rate of 13%, the second-highest of all sectors. A YoY increase in the Hiring Rate for Energy and Mining, up 27% in November, may reflect the impact of low oil prices of a year ago. Oil and Energy accounted for 60% of new hires in this sector.

Finance

S.A. hiring in Finance fell 6% MoM, a smaller decrease than the national average. Hiring is up 15% YoY. Financial services accounted for the majority of hires in this sector.

Media and Communications

S.A. hiring in Media and Communications is down 10%. The YoY Hiring Rate in this sector is up 4% in November, one of the smallest YoY increases. Marketing and advertising accounts for almost two thirds of new hires in this sector.

Healthcare

The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate is down 9% in the Healthcare sector. YoY the Hiring Rate is up 13%. 

Real Estate

The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate is down 9%, a fall in line with the national average, that might reflecting slowing house price growth. YoY the Hiring Rate in the Real Estate sector is up 22%.

Public Administration

The Public Administration S.A. MoM Hiring Rate fell 19% versus October. YoY the Hiring Rate is up 18% in November 2017.

Transportation and Logistics

Transport and Logistics saw consistent levels of hiring in the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate, which is down only 1% versus October. YoY the Hiring Rate is up 17% in November 2017.

Recreation and Travel

In the Recreation and Travel sector, the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate is down 10%. YoY the Hiring Rate is up 14%.

Manufacturing

The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate is down 11%. YoY the Hiring Rate in Manufacturing is up 7% in November 2017. The automotive industry is the largest contributor, accounting for a quarter of new hires overall. 

Construction

The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate is down 10%. YoY the Hiring Rate in the Construction sector is up 13% in November 2017. Almost three quarters of these hires were in standard construction companies.

Education

The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate is down 24%. YoY the Hiring Rate in Education is up 11% in November 2017. Education management accounted for a third of new hires.

Consumer Goods

The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate is down 5% versus October. YoY the Hiring Rate in Consumer Goods is up 11% in November 2017.

Retail

The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate is down 5% versus October. YoY the Hiring Rate in the Retail sector is up 7% in November 2017.

Design

The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate is down 4%. YoY the Hiring Rate in the Design sector is up 7% in November 2017.

Corporate Services

The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate iss down 10%. YoY the Hiring Rate in Corporate Services is up 6% in November 2017. Management Consulting and Accounting were the sources of a quarter of new hires.

Software and IT Services

The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate is down 9% versus October. YoY the Hiring Rate in Software and IT Services is up 5% in November 2017. Over a half of the new hires in this sector are made by information technology and services companies.

Hardware and Networking

The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate increased slightly by 3%. YoY the Hiring Rate in the Hardware and Networking sector is up 3% in November 2017.

Nonprofit

The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate is down 10%. The YoY Hiring Rate in the Nonprofit sector is up just 1% in November 2017.

Entertainment

The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate is down 6%. YoY the Hiring Rate in Entertainment fell by 5% in November 2017.

Migration

London continues to be the region with most to lose from Brexit, attracting more international than domestic talent over the past 12 months. The capital is by far the UK’s most global region, accounting for more inward and outward international migration than domestic movements.

Nine out of the 12 nations and regions of the UK are net importers of international talent. Only Northern Ireland, the North East and Yorkshire and the Humber failed to draw more international workers than the workers they lost to overseas over the past year.

Outward migration from the UK’s regions

London, the East Midlands, and the South East continue to be the regions from which members are most likely to leave and move to other UK regions or other countries.

Of these three regions, only London saw a majority of people who were leaving heading for another country. Similarly, the majority of those leaving Northern Ireland and Scotland also head abroad. 

Inward migration to the UK’s regions

London, the East Midlands, and the South East also continue to be the regions gaining the most members from other UK regions or other countries.

London, Scotland and Northern Ireland all saw the majority of inbound members arrive from another country, while every other UK region welcomes most of their arrivals from another part of the UK.

Net flows to UK regions

London, the South West and the North West continue to be net recipients of combined domestic and international migration, while the North East has seen the biggest net outflow.

For net domestic migration, London continues to be the biggest draw and the South East was the region with most people leaving.

From the perspective of international migration, the UK continues to be an attractive destination, with nine out of the 12 UK nations and regions seeing inward net flows of international migrants, while Northern Ireland, the North East and Yorkshire and the Humber losing more workers to other countries than they gained.