Legal Job Market Report – June 2024 from the Ten Percent Group – our summary of the current state of the UK legal job market.

Locum Recruitment – Steady

Locum work has now stabilised after a pretty poor winter and spring season. Most of the decline remains the reduced demand for conveyancing cover. A quick look at the most recently posted roles shows fields of law include commercial litigation, IP & commercial contracts, wills & probate, commercial property. There have been 9 conveyancing locum roles in during May, which is a large increase on previous months. Some of this will be annual leave cover, but there has clearly been an upturn. Number one difficulty for recruiting locums remains locum expectations on hourly rates (eg a significant proportion of conveyancing locums still not reducing rates for roles despite the increased competition) and the preference of a significant proportion of locums to do remote working rather than office-based work. This is still an issue across the UK and all areas of the market other than corporate & commercial fields, although increasing numbers of locums are now available for office work in some areas as market conditions get tougher.

Locum assignment updates here: https://www.interimlawyers.co.uk/category/locum-solicitor-updates/

Permanent Recruitment – Steady

Permanent jobs posted in May are up 70% on the previous year. We still have a wide range of vacancies coming in for fields of law – wills & probate remains extremely popular and difficult to recruit for in all areas of the UK. Corporate commercial, in house, conveyancing and family plus others. Our permanent recruiter team remain busy, although some of the work at this time of year involves filtering out the ‘season sillies’ – vacancies posted by firms to test salary levels on incoming CVs. See our salary guide below or give us a ring – always happy to oblige!

Permanent vacancies can be viewed here: https://www.ten-percent.co.uk/vacancies/

New Candidate Registrations – 272% increase

Candidate registrations are a very good indicator for market conditions. Increasing numbers of candidates register with us when the market is going down, and drop when the market is on the up. Numbers are up by 272% compared with the previous year. New locums have remained extremely high in number and the influx shows no sign of falling.

Law Firms for Sale – Busy

Busy as ever – its the time of year when new firms are coming to market, owners are considering retirement plans and buyers are particularly active before the summar holidays. Extremely good time to be listing for sale as the market usually stays busy up until August. ABS firms in particular demand – there seem to be a number of investors with new pipelines of work to put through.

Full details of firms currently for sale on our website – list updated daily. For valuations, exit planning or a confidential discussion about a potential sale or acquisition generally please ring 01824 780937 and speak to Jonathan Fagan or Taillte Mallon, or email jf@jonathanfagan.co.uk

Ten Percent Group statistics for May 2024 (2023 figures in brackets)

New locum roles added – 21 (22)
New permanent roles added – 29 (17)
New candidates added – 82 (22)

KPMG & REC Report on Jobs UK – June 10th 2024

Permanent placements fall again, but at slower rate
Pay rates continue to rise markedly
Worker availability increases to steeper degree

Commentary from Jon Holt, CEO of KPMG UK
“We know our labour market is resilient. The big picture is that unemployment is historically low
with the ease of filling vacancies back to pre-pandemic levels. Taken together with today’s
data and expected interest rate cuts, inflation easing and increased consumer confidence over
the summer, we will hopefully move towards a better economic outlook for the second half of
2024. But May’s data underscores the complexities in the current labour market. While demand overall remains weak due to firms still stalling on hiring decisions, the pace of decline has slowed for the third month in a row. Some sectors even saw demand growth – although a lack of skilled applicants could put further upward pressure on pay as employers compete to attract the best talent.”

Commentary from Neil Carberry REC CEO
“The jobs market looks like it’s on its way back, with clear improvements over last month on
most key measures, especially in the North and Midlands. While permanent hiring remains weak, these are the best numbers we have seen in more than a year, and the temp billings number has also improved. There is potential energy stored in the economy, as employers are feeling more confident. Political certainty and falling interest rates should add to lower inflation and help this turn into movement over the course of the rest of the year. REC members report that clients are ready to hire, but hesitant. These numbers suggest that caution may be starting to abate. Pay growth remains steady, reflecting both settlements made by employers for their staff, but also the substantial National Minimum Wage rise in April.”