LONDON: A fall in permanent hiring by employers in Britain was its least severe in more than a year in May and the recruitment market appears to be poised for a recovery, an industry survey showed on Monday.
In a report that will be studied by the Bank of England as it weighs up when to start cutting interest rates, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation said permanent hiring fell by the smallest amount in 14 months.
Billings for temporary staff dropped by the least since January.
“The jobs market looks like it’s on its way back, with clear improvements over last month on most key measures,” REC Chief Executive Neil Carberry said.
The REC survey has generally painted a weaker picture of the labor market than broader official data, which showed annual wage growth of 6 percent in the first quarter of 2024.
Britain’s July 4 national election and the likelihood of interest rate cuts by the BoE later this year were likely to remove the hesitancy of employers about hiring, Carberry said.
“These numbers suggest that caution may be starting to abate,” he said.
REC said pay rates for permanent staff rose at a pace that was only slightly slower than April’s four-month high. Vacancies fell at the slowest pace in a seven-month downturn.
In a possible relief for the BoE, the availability of staff grew by the most since December 2020, boosted by a mix of redundancies, higher unemployment and the reduction in demand for staff.
The BoE is watching the labor market closely as it assesses when inflation pressure in the economy has abated sufficiently for it to cut borrowing costs for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic more than four years ago.
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UK job market on its way back after downturn, recruiters say
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UK job market on its way back after downturn, recruiters say
- The REC survey has generally painted a weaker picture of the labor market than broader official data, which showed annual wage growth of 6 percent in the first quarter of 2024
Bangladesh police say student leader’s killers fled to India
DHAKA: Bangladesh police on Sunday said the alleged killers of popular student leader Sharif Osman Hadi had fled to India, in comments likely to further strain relations with its neighbor.
Hadi, a vocal India critic who took part in last year’s mass uprising, was shot by masked assailants in Dhaka earlier this month and later succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in Singapore.
His death set off violent protests with angry mobs torching several buildings, including two major newspapers deemed to favor India as well as a prominent cultural institution.
With protests being held across the country almost daily, pressure has been growing on Bangladesh’s interim government to arrest the killers of Hadi, who was set to contest general elections in February next year.
“The killing was premeditated. Those behind it have been identified,” SN Nazrul Islam, a senior Dhaka Metropolitan Police officer, said at a news conference.
Suspects Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Sheikh left Bangladesh through the Haluaghat border with India shortly after attacking Hadi on December 12, Islam said.
They were received at the border by two Indian citizens, who escorted them into the northeastern state of Meghalaya before handing them over to two accomplices.
Bangladeshi investigators were in contact with their Indian counterparts who had arrested the two suspected accomplices, Islam said.
“We are communicating with Meghalaya police, who have confirmed the arrest of two Indian nationals,” he added.
Two senior Meghalaya police officers however did not comment when contacted by AFP.
The Indian foreign ministry had earlier said it rejects “false narratives” about New Delhi’s involvement in Hadi’s killing.
Ties between the neighbors have deteriorated since ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled the pro-democracy uprising and sought refuge in India.
India says it is still considering Dhaka’s requests to extradite Hasina, who was sentenced to death in absentia for orchestrating a deadly crackdown on the uprising.
The lynching of a Hindu garment worker by a mob on December 18 has also hit ties.
Amid the deteriorating security situation in the Muslim-majority country, Khuda Baksh Chowdhury, special assistant to interim leader Muhammad Yunus overseeing the home department, stepped down on Wednesday.
Hadi, a vocal India critic who took part in last year’s mass uprising, was shot by masked assailants in Dhaka earlier this month and later succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in Singapore.
His death set off violent protests with angry mobs torching several buildings, including two major newspapers deemed to favor India as well as a prominent cultural institution.
With protests being held across the country almost daily, pressure has been growing on Bangladesh’s interim government to arrest the killers of Hadi, who was set to contest general elections in February next year.
“The killing was premeditated. Those behind it have been identified,” SN Nazrul Islam, a senior Dhaka Metropolitan Police officer, said at a news conference.
Suspects Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Sheikh left Bangladesh through the Haluaghat border with India shortly after attacking Hadi on December 12, Islam said.
They were received at the border by two Indian citizens, who escorted them into the northeastern state of Meghalaya before handing them over to two accomplices.
Bangladeshi investigators were in contact with their Indian counterparts who had arrested the two suspected accomplices, Islam said.
“We are communicating with Meghalaya police, who have confirmed the arrest of two Indian nationals,” he added.
Two senior Meghalaya police officers however did not comment when contacted by AFP.
The Indian foreign ministry had earlier said it rejects “false narratives” about New Delhi’s involvement in Hadi’s killing.
Ties between the neighbors have deteriorated since ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled the pro-democracy uprising and sought refuge in India.
India says it is still considering Dhaka’s requests to extradite Hasina, who was sentenced to death in absentia for orchestrating a deadly crackdown on the uprising.
The lynching of a Hindu garment worker by a mob on December 18 has also hit ties.
Amid the deteriorating security situation in the Muslim-majority country, Khuda Baksh Chowdhury, special assistant to interim leader Muhammad Yunus overseeing the home department, stepped down on Wednesday.
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