LinkedIn Workforce Report | United Kingdom | March 2018

Over 24 million people in the UK have LinkedIn profiles. This means that we can see where 24 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 February 2018. This is our fifth Workforce Report for the UK, and it also takes a comparative look at both data from February 2018 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

• The UK attracted less international talent than in previous months. A majority of the UK’s 12 nations and regions lost more talent to other countries than they gained in February, a marked reversal on January, when nine out of the 12 nations and regions had gained more talent from overseas than they lost.

• London experienced a net loss of international talent for the first time. The capital has so far been a significant net attractor of overseas talent every month in which this report has been compiled. This loss in February may be viewed in the context of the low hiring rate in the capital which has seen little change since November.

• UK hiring down slightly in February after its strong start to 2018. The seasonally adjusted (S.A.) month on month (MoM) Hiring Rate fell 2.5%, reversing an increase in January. However, the year on year (YoY) National Hiring Rate was up by 11% on February 2017, the highest increase by this measure since we started this report in November 2017.

• Hiring fell in most of the of the UK’s nations and regions in February, reversing increases in January. The S.A. Hiring Rate was negative MoM in 8 of the UK’s 12 nations and regions. Yorkshire and the Humber, Northern Ireland and the West Midlands saw the largest falls.

• The hiring rate declined in most of the 19 reported sectors. Hardware Networking (up 20% MoM), Energy and Mining (up 14%) and Software IT Services (up 7%) stood out as the sectors with more new hires in February. Public sector hiring in Healthcare, Education and Public Administration saw the largest falls in the hiring rate.

The Hiring Rate

The S.A. MoM National Hiring Rate for February was down 2.5% on the previous month, reversing the 5.3% increase in January that had welcomed in the new year and had ended a two-month downward run.

Year on Year (YoY), hiring was up 11% on February 2017, indicating that more people took up new jobs in February 2018 than February 2017. The National Hiring Rate Was 11% higher in February 2018 versus February 2017.

Regional Hiring Rates

The S.A. change in the Hiring Rate was negative MoM in 8 of the UK’s 12 nations and regions in February. Hiring in London has slipped into the negative after three uneventful months (-1%), it is unchanged in Scotland, and picked up slightly in the South East (1%). The English regions displayed MoM hiring rates ranging from 2% growth in the South West to a 10% fall in Yorkshire and the Humber, which had experienced the strongest monthly growth in England in January. The East Midlands achieved the most significant YoY growth in the UK versus February 2017 at 14%.

Notable regional activity this month includes:

London

The S.A. Hiring Rate in London MoM fell by 1% in February - marking the fourth month where there has been no significant increase or decrease in hiring in the capital. At 1% the YoY growth on February 2017 was also the lowest in the country. The high vacancy rate reported by the ONS labour market survey suggests this lack of activity may be due to a tight labour market, but another factor may be a fall in international talent heading for the capital (see migration, below).

South East – Hiring in the South East has also recorded little change since November and the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in February grew by 1%. The region’s YoY Hiring Rate continues to rise modestly, up 6% on February 2017, the lowest rise of any region outside of the capital.

Yorkshire and the Humber – The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in Yorkshire and the Humber fell 10% in February, the highest fall of any region and well above the national average decrease. The region achieved YoY growth in the Hiring Rate of 8% versus February 2017, placing it in the lower half of the performance table compared to other parts of the country.

Wales – Hiring in Wales has slipped since January, with the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate falling by 2%. However, the YoY Hiring Rate grew 12% versus February 2017.

The East Midlands – The East Midlands recorded a fall in the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in February of 3%, but its YoY Hiring Rate recorded the highest growth (14%) of any region returning significant data.

The North East – The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in the North East fell by 1% versus January, but its YoY Hiring Rate was above the national average at 13% up on February 2017.

The West Midlands – The West Midlands also performed poorly in February with an above- national average fall in its S.A. MoM Hiring Rate (down 6%) after having achieved growth above the national average at the start of the year. The Hiring Rate was 10% higher YoY on February 2017.

Scotland – There was no growth in the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in Scotland in February. Growth in Scotland’s YoY Hiring Rate of 7% versus February 2017 was below that achieved in January this year and continues to be low compared with the end of last year, when it had seen the highest YoY rate of any region or nation in the UK.

The North West – The hiring performance in the North West was also disappointing in February, with a fall of 2% in the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate, while YoY growth on February 2017 remained positive, up 9%.

South West – The South West recorded the highest growth of any region in the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in February, albeit at a modest 2%. The hiring rate was up 9% YoY, as it had been in January.

The East of England – The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate did not change in February, and the YoY Hiring Rate grew by 7% on February 2017.

Northern Ireland – The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in Northern Ireland fell in February by 6%, the second lowest level of any UK region or nation. YoY growth on February 2017 was up 24%.

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.

Hardware and Networking - Hiring in Hardware and Networking performed better than any other sector of the economy, with growth in the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate of 20% well above the 1% average among the 19 sectors. However, growth in the YoY Hiring Rate on February 2017 was low at 3%, continuing a sluggish period.

Energy and Mining – Energy and Mining reversed a poor performance at the start of the year with the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate growing 14% in February, making it the sector with the second strongest growth and well above average. The YoY Hiring Rate in Energy and Mining of 12% versus February 2017 was also an improvement on January’s figure and above the 11% average increase among the main hiring sectors.

Software and IT Services – Software and IT Services has also picked up, registering 7% growth in the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in February following a 3% fall in January. YoY the Hiring Rate rose by 12% on February 2017.

Legal – The Legal sector’s hiring edged up again with an increase of 5% in the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in February building further on January’s performance of 2%. YoY the Hiring Rate at 11% on February 2017 reflected the national average.

Healthcare – Despite an apparent revival of hiring in the public sector in January, Healthcare led Education and Public Administration amongst the poor performer in February with a fall in its S.A. MoM Hiring Rate of 8%, the worst figure of any reported sector. YoY the Hiring Rate in Healthcare was up 12% on February 2017.

Education – As with other public services, the Education sector’s S.A. MoM Hiring Rate fell in February (down by 6%),the  YoY increase in Hiring Rate of 5% on February 2017 was below the 6% seen in January.

Public Administration – Public Administration also remains sluggish, with a S.A. MoM Hiring Rate down 6% in February, although the YoY Hiring Rate has picked up at 16%, well above the national average.

Corporate Services – The Corporate Services sector has maintained modest growth in hiring with a S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in February of 4%. Its YoY Hiring Rate is also rising, up 16% on February 2017 compared with just 9% in January.

Finance – S.A. hiring in Finance remains inconsistent, falling MoM by 3% in February after growth of 8% in January. However, this sector remained above the national average in terms of YoY growth (13%) on February 2017.

Real Estate – The Real Estate sector daw modest growth of just 1% in the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in February, but has outperformed most other sectors YoY with growth of 23% on February 2017.

Construction – Construction hiring remains erratic, with a slight fall in the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in February of 1% after signs of a recovery in January, when growth was up an impressive 22%. However, the YoY Hiring Rate on February 2017 was the second highest of all the main sectors at 22%.

Manufacturing – While in January Manufacturing was one of the business sectors pushing up the Hiring Rate nationally, it remains uneven, with the S.A. MoM hiring dipping by 1% in February, and growth of 13% YoY on February 2017.

Transportation and Logistics – The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in the Transportation and Logistics sector fell by 4% in February, although YoY the Hiring Rate was up 18% on this time last year.

Retail – After a pick-up in hiring in the Retail sector at the start of the year, it is now standing still with no change in the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in February. There was better news in terms of YoY growth on February 2017, which at 18%, was above average.

Media and Communications – Slow growth in Media and Comms that was evident in January has continued, with a rise in the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate of just 1% in February and 1% YoY growth versus February 2017.

Consumer Goods – Progress on hiring in the Consumer Goods sector has been reversed since the start of the year, with a 4% fall in the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in February, and YoY growth on February 2017 of 6%.

Entertainment – Hiring in the Entertainment sector has picked up slightly since January, with the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in February up 3%. YoY this sector is also up, with an increase in the Hiring Rate on February 2017 of 4%.

Nonprofit – The Nonprofit sector saw a fall in the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate of 5% in February. The YoY Hiring Rate in this sector grew 10% versus February 2017, which was below average.

Recreation and Travel – In the Recreation and Travel sector, the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate was down 1% in February, but YoY the Hiring Rate was up 8% on February 2017.

Migration

London remains the most attractive destination for international arrivals and continues to attract almost double the amount of overseas talent than its nearest rival Scotland, but Scotland continues to attract a marginally higher proportion of its new arrivals from abroad.

February registered significant shifts in the net flows of overseas workers to the UK, with the number of UK regions and nations that were net attractors of international talent falling from nine to just five out of 12 in February. London, the North West, Scotland and Wales joined Northern Ireland, the North East and Yorkshire and the Humber as regions failing to draw more international workers than the workers they lost overseas in the past year.

When looking at net migration of both UK and international talent, only three regions recorded a net gain of workers in February: London, the North West and the South West. While this is similar to the pattern of recent months, in all three cases net overall migration has slowed significantly. The other nine regions and nations lost workers to other parts of the UK and to overseas, and in some cases the rate at which they are doing so is increasing.

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 abroad.

Of these three regions, only London saw a majority of people who were leaving heading overseas. 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 have continued 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, although there is evidence that the numbers arriving in Northern Ireland are reducing, 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, although in all three regions this has declined markedly since January, while the North East continues to see the biggest net outflow.

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

From the perspective of international migration, only five out of the 12 nations and regions were net gainers of international talent in February compared to nine of 12  in January. In February, London, the North East, the North West, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Yorkshire and the Humber all lost more workers to other countries than they gained.

We will look in detail at the developments in international migration into the UK in the April UK Workforce Report.