LinkedIn Workforce Report | United Kingdom | January 2018

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 December 2017. This is our third Workforce Report for the UK, and also takes a comparative look at both data from December 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 activity is down in the UK as a whole, continuing the downward trend in the seasonally adjusted (S.A.) month on month (MoM) Hiring Rate that began in October, and confirming that 2017 ended with slowing labour market activity. The S.A. MoM National Hiring Rate in December was 4.2% lower than in November, and while the year on year (YoY) National Hiring Rate was up by 8% on December 2016, this was the lowest increase since we started this report in November 2017, and consistent with the downward trend we’ve seen over the last quarter.
  
  
• The Hiring Rate fell in all 12 regions and nations of the UK except for London and the South East. The average fall in the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate across the 10 nations and regions outside London and the South East was 9.6%, with the North East falling most (down 17%). Confirming that the forces affecting the regions are not uniform, London has gained little ground since 2016, with December’s YoY Hiring Rate up by just 2%, while Scotland outperformed the rest of the country with YoY growth of 23%.
  
  
• Hiring in most sectors slowed. The MoM Hiring Rate fell in 14 of 19 reported sectors in December, with Consumer Goods, Retailing, and the Legal sector those with the most significant declines. A MoM decrease in Consumer Goods hiring in December - which is seasonally adjusted to remove festive hiring - of 15% was well above the average. Energy and Mining, however, remains strong and registered huge YoY growth in the Hiring Rate in December of 31% and S.A. MoM growth of 12%.
  
  
• Some sectors bucked the downward trend in December. Software and IT Services, Entertainment, Media and Communications continued their steady growth of the last three months.
  
  
• Nine of 12 UK regions and nations gained more talent from overseas than they lost. Only Northern Ireland, the North East and Yorkshire and the Humber saw a net loss of talent overseas over the previous year. London remains by far the most attractive destination for international and domestic migration, although Scotland overtakes it in terms of the proportion of its new arrivals coming from abroad. London, the South West and the North West were the only three UK regions to be net recipients of combined domestic and international migration.

The Hiring Rate

The seasonally-adjusted Hiring Rate for December was, at 1, 4.2% lower than in November, when it had also seen a MoM decline from October (of 9.6%).

Year on Year (YoY), hiring is up 8%, but by the lowest increase since the start of the Workforce Report and consistent with the slowing of growth that we saw in previous reports. The national Hiring Rate of 0.56 was 8% higher in December 2017 versus December 2016. 

Regional Hiring Rates

Across the UK’s 12 nations and regions, the S.A. change in the Hiring Rate was negative MoM everywhere except London and the South East, with an average decline of 9.6%. England’s regions displayed a mixed pattern, ranging from a hefty 17% fall in the North East to a 4% drop in Yorkshire and the Humber. Scotland saw one of the smallest decreases (down 4%), but the highest YoY growth in the UK at 23%.

Notable regional activity this month includes:

London

London was the outlier as the only one of the regions and nations to see growth in the S.A. Hiring Rate in December, albeit of just 1% MoM. However, London’s 2% YoY growth was, alongside Wales, the lowest in the country, and compares poorly with Scotland. Finance remained the strongest sector for hiring in London, followed by Software and IT Services.

South East – Alongside London, the South East was the only other region to avoid a decline in the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate, with no change in December versus November. The YoY Hiring Rate was up 10% in December. Software and IT services was the top placed and strongest category for new hires.

The North East -  In the North East, the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate was down 17% versus November, the largest fall in the country and 4% greater than the next highest decline in Wales. However, the YoY Hiring Rate in the North East was up 10% in December, although growth is slowing. Energy and Mining was the top sector for new hires.

Wales – The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate was down 13% in December versus November. Wales has also shown low growth in YoY Hiring Rate (up 2%), alongside London. Corporate Services followed by Manufacturing were the top sources of new hires.

Scotland - Scotland saw the highest YoY Hiring Rate of any region or nation in the UK (up 23%) although its S.A. MoM Hiring Rate was down by 4%, albeit at the lower end compared with the fall elsewhere in the country. Energy and Mining were by far the largest sources of new hires, registering almost twice the number of new hires in the two following categories, Finance and Corporate Services.

Yorkshire and the Humber – The picture in Yorkshire and the Humber is mixed, with 18% growth in the YoY Hiring Rate in December but a drop in the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate of 4%. Corporate Services and Manufacturing were the strongest sectors for new hires.

The North West – In the North West the hiring picture is also mixed, with 14% YoY growth in December but a fall in the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate of 11%. Corporate Services and Manufacturing were the main sectors for new hires

Other regions:

South West - The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate was down 8% versus November, repeating the pattern of the previous month. The YoY Hiring Rate was up 7% in December 2017. Corporate Services and Manufacturing again proved to be the top sectors for new hires.

Northern Ireland – Northern Ireland was another region where the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate fell significantly in December (12%), but the region has also demonstrated high YoY growth at 19%, the second highest behind Scotland.

The West Midlands – In December the West Midlands also recorded a S.A. MoM Hiring Rate down 8% versus November, although it achieved a higher YoY Hiring Rate of 11%. Manufacturing was a clear frontrunner for new hires, as only region of the UK where manufacturing was the top sector for new hires.

The East Midlands – The East Midlands recorded the country’s third highest fall in the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in December (down 12%), but the YoY Hiring Rate was a positive 7%.

The East of England – The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate was down 6% in December, but the YoY Hiring Rate grew by 7%. Corporate Services followed by Finance were the main sectors for new hires.

Sector Hiring Rates

A deep dive into the individual Hiring Rates for different sectors of the economy can give us a better understanding of the hiring changes that have been taking place.

Energy and Mining- Energy and Mining recorded the strongest performance of any sector in terms of both YoY Hiring Rate, with huge growth at 31% well above second-placed Transportation and Logistics, and S.A. MoM Hiring Rate (12%), double that of second-placed Entertainment.

Construction - Construction hiring was up on last year, with 14% growth in the YoY Hiring Rate in December, but down 8% on November in its S.A. MoM Hiring Rate, albeit staying above the national rate in the last month of the year.

Consumer Goods - There has been a marked slowdown in the Consumer Goods sector, with a 15% fall in the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in December, and just 1% growth in the YoY Hiring Rate.

Finance - S.A. hiring in Finance has been falling and a trend of MoM declines was confirmed in December with a decrease of 5%, although Finance grew 13% YoY and remains the strongest sector in London.

Transportation and Logistics - Transport and Logistics achieved the second highest YoY growth in the Hiring Rate (21%) after Energy and Mining, but in December its SA MoM Hiring Rate fell by 6%.

Software and IT Services - The picture for Software and IT Services was positive in December, with modest growth both in the YoY Hiring Rate of 7% and in the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate (4%).

Retail - As with Consumer Goods and Real Estate, the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in the Retail sector fell in December (by 14%), compared with December 2017 there was 10% YoY growth.

Media and Communications - Media and Comms continued the steady growth its shown over the last three months with an increase in the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in December of 4%, one of only six sectors recording positive growth, although it did not grow YoY.

Entertainment - Entertainment was another sector to have performed well in terms of the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in December, with growth of 6%, although it experienced one of the largest declines in YoY Hiring Rate of 5%.

Legal - There are signs of slowing growth in the Legal sector, with a YoY increase in Hiring Rate in December of 19% well down on the equivalent figure for November, and a 14% fall in the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate - one of the highest of any sector.

Public Administration - The Public Administration S.A. MoM Hiring Rate fell 8% in December versus November, but the YoY Hiring Rate was up 13%.

Recreation and Travel - In the Recreation and Travel sector, the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate was down 9% in December, slightly slowing on November’s growth, but YoY the Hiring Rate was up 11%.

Education - The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in Education was down 8% in December, YoY the Hiring Rate was up 10% on 2016.

Healthcare - While the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate was down 8% in the Healthcare sector, YoY the Hiring Rate was up 8%.

Manufacturing - Manufacturing hires remain cautious, with the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate down 4% in December, and only modest growth YoY in the Hiring Rate of 5%.

Hardware and Networking - Hiring in the Hardware and Networking sector is also sluggish, with a fall YoY in the Hiring Rate of 4% in December, and growth in the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate of just 1% on November.

Design - The Design sector is just about holding its own with growth YoY in the Hiring Rate of 5%, and a slight decline in the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate of 2%.

Corporate Services - The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in Corporate Services was down 2% in December, slowing the fall of the previous month. YoY the Hiring Rate was up 7% on 2016.

Nonprofit - In the Nonprofit sector, a fall in the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate of 5% in December was only half the decline of the previous month, while YoY the Hiring Rate was up 8%, also representing an increase on the previous month’s figure.

Migration

London remains by far the most attractive destination for international arrivals, attracting almost double that of its nearest rival Scotland, but Scotland overtakes it in terms of the overall proportion of its new arrivals who come from abroad.

Nine out of the 12 regions and nations are net attractors of international talent, with Northern Ireland, the North East and Yorkshire and the Humber continuing to be the only regions that failed to draw more international workers than the workers they lost to overseas in the past year.

In December, the net movement of workers both within the UK and internationally slowed versus November in the South West, the North West, Wales and Northern Ireland, but rose in the rest of the country.

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 continues to see the biggest net outflow.

For net domestic migration, London remains the biggest draw and the South East continues to be 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. Northern Ireland, the North East and Yorkshire and the Humber continued to lose more workers to other countries than they gained.