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.
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
Israeli firm loses British Army contract bid
- Subsidiary Elbit Systems UK’s campaign for $2.6bn program was marred by controversy
- Senior govt civil servant overseeing contract was dined, handed free Israel tour
LONDON: A UK subsidiary of Israeli weapons giant Elbit Systems has lost its bid to win a prominent British Army contract, The Times reported.
The loss followed high-profile reporting on controversy surrounding Elbit Systems UK’s handling of the bid.
The subsidiary led one of two major arms consortiums attempting to secure the $2.6 billion bid to prepare British soldiers for war and overhaul army standards.
Rivaling Elbit, the other consortium led by Raytheon UK, a British subsidiary of the US defense giant, ultimately won the contract, a Ministry of Defence insider told The Times.
It had been decided following an intricate process that Raytheon was a “better candidate,” the source said.
Elbit Systems UK’s controversial handling of its contract campaign was revealed in reports by The Times.
A whistleblower had compiled a dossier surrounding the bid that was shown to the MoD last August, though the report was privately revealed to the ministry months earlier.
It alleged that Elbit UK had breached business appointment rules when Philip Kimber, a former British Army brigadier, had reportedly shared information with the firm after leaving the military.
Kimber attending critical meetings at the firm to discuss the training contract that he had once overseen at the ministry, the report alleged.
In one case, Kimber was present in an Elbit meeting and sitting out of view of a camera. He reportedly said he “should not be there,” according to the whistleblower’s report.
In response to a freedom of information request, the MoD later admitted that it had held the dossier for seven months without investigating its claims. Insiders at the ministry blamed the investigative delay on “administrative oversight.”
A month after being pushed on the allegations by The Times, a senior civil servant completed an “assurance review” in September and found that business appointment rules had not been breached.
Other allegations concerned lunches and dinners hosted by Elbit UK in which civil servants at the heart of the contract decision process were invited.
One senior civil servant was dined by the British subsidiary seven times, while rival Raytheon did not host events.
Mike Cooper, the senior responsible owner at army headquarters for the army training program, also traveled to Jerusalem with two senior British military officers.
He took part in a sightseeing tour funded by Elbit Systems, the British subsidiary’s parent company.
In response to the allegations, an MoD spokesperson said in a statement: “The collective training transformation programme will modernise training for soldiers to ensure the British Army can face down the threats of the future.
“We will not comment further until a preferred tenderer announcement is made public in due course.”
Amid mounting criticism of Israel within the British military establishment, four former senior army officers, in a letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, recently urged the government to end involvement with Israeli-owned or Israeli-supported weapons companies.
“Now is not the time to return to business as usual with the Israeli government,” they wrote, urging harsher sanctions.
