Property industry vacancies ‘fallen off a cliff’, leading recruiter warns
Anthony Hesse of Property Personnel says the number of jobs on offer is 30% down on last year, blaming NI increases and looming employment legislation.
A leading recruitment chief has rejected claims that job vacancies in the property industry are static.
Anthony Hesse, MD at Property Personnel, says the number of advertised jobs has “fallen off a cliff” since April.
A combination of a struggling market and extra pressure on employers created by the national minimum wage, increased National Insurance, plus the looming Employment Rights Bill, has created a perfect storm, he says.
Reluctant
Recruiters are reluctant to fill vacancies, he adds, unless they are essential to the business.
Research from the Global Payroll Alliance had suggested there was only a marginal fall in vacancies in the real estate sector, of just 0.1%.
But Hesse says: “It has fallen off a cliff since April. There has been quite a significant reductant in the number of vacancies in the residential property sector.
“This is down to a combination of factors, including a challenging property market and the increases in costs to employ staff, including the raising of the National Minimum Wage and the hike in Employers’ NICS to 15%, and that is before the Employment Rights Bill comes into effect later this year.”
30% fewer vacancies
He says Property Personnel had 30% fewer vacancies in May to August than at the same time last year.
“And I know we are not alone. A visit to most other recruiters’ sites will show similar results, and the careers pages of many of our clients are also advertising far fewer vacancies than they were a year ago,” he says.
“Most companies are only looking to replace when they absolutely have to. A lot of non-essential roles are being put on hold, and existing staff being asked to take up the slack.”
