Market Insights 2019 | Yorkshire

Commerce & Industry

Our Yorkshire office achieved another record breaking performance last year, with private sector recruitment being the driving force. This trend is set to continue in the year ahead, with Yorkshire seemingly more resilient in the face of Brexit than some other regions.

Transactional

2018 saw a number of factors that affected the transactional market and had a direct impact on how businesses recruit. Yorkshire has seen the fastest private sector growth of any city in the UK, making it a prime location for businesses who are looking to relocate and want to take advantage of an existing talent pool whilst reducing their operational costs.

Specialist Markets

Uncertainty has characterised Yorkshire specialist markets, and indeed all markets over the past 12 months, with the implications of possible Brexit scenarios front of mind for many organisations. With GDPR now a reality, organisations have been focusing on how to embed this into their processes. Compliance with the new regulations is a priority for senior stakeholders, and with many organisations still unsure of how to define the industry standard, we have seen increasing demand for junior auditors who can support the process.

Professional Services

Continued uncertainty about how Brexit is going to impact andshape the market has led to a cautious approach to recruitment within professional services across Yorkshire, particularly at the back end of 2018. While there has been a continuous work flow for Big 4 and Top 10 clients, senior recruitment and new roles across mid tier and small firms has been restrained.

Change & Transformation

The change management market was busy throughout last year, particularly on the permanent side. Activity has continued to rise this year, as companies look to bring skills in-house and reduce spend on interim and external consultancies. There have been some contract opportunities, mainly across systems implementation or business change. Resource requirements across finance, business and technology change projects have been relatively even.

Executive & Interim

Last year was a buoyant and encouraging year for the temporary and interim market across Yorkshire. It has, however, been a tough start to 2019, with slow progress for temporary employment and contractors increasingly turning to longer term opportunities in the accountancy and finance sectors. This is partly due to unpredictability around vacancies and when they will come available, together with an uncertain market and a slowing economy. Although this clearly presents its own challenges, it has proved to benefit professional interims as the market has become more candidate driven – making it possibly the perfect time to enter a contracting career.

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