The labor market has seen a great amount of turbulence over the past few months, with instances such as the US trade tariff announcements causing a lot of uncertainty.
These layered on top of domestic headwinds — particularly policy changes, wage regulations, and ongoing uncertainty around employment rights — have made it difficult for employers to plan with confidence.
To understand what this means for HR, UNLEASH spoke exclusively to Jack Kennedy Senior Economist at Indeed Hiring Lab.
Retaining staff in today’s labor market
A few years ago, there was a lot of noise around how difficult it was to find staff.
But Kennedy insists that this has eased, explaining there hasn’t been a recent rise in job losses, unemployment remains low, and layoffs remain modest.
“Recruitment conditions have eased, but it’s not necessarily easy to find workers,” he adds. One manifestation of this is that we still have quite robust wage growth in the UK.
“It’s still running close to 6% year-on-year but it’s been gradually coming down from peaks. Employers have responded to wage pressures and rising living costs, which have meant workers have been able to bargain for higher pay – though that’s now gradually cooling.”
With this being said, Kennedy says that it’s important for HR leaders to understand how they can continue to retain top employees, and what they can do to attract new talent.
For Kennedy, the number one factor is around salary transparency, explaining that it’s important employers are “upfront” about it.
“Being transparent about pay is a key part of employer branding,” he notes. “Current employees value that transparency – they want to know what they could be earning as they progress in their careers.
Kennedy highlights that this reflects the rising trend of pay transparency. In fact, the UK compares favorably to other European countries – around 70% of job postings include pay data, whereas most European countries are at 50% or below.
“There are cultural differences, but EU-wide pay transparency laws will come into force in the next couple of years,” he adds. “That’s likely to raise transparency levels across Europe and in the UK, especially with multinationals adopting consistent policies.”
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HR leaders can navigate a shifting labor market shaped by economic uncertainty, wage pressures, AI disruption, and evolving expectations.