UK hiring stays frozen as employer confidence lingers near pandemic lows

British employers are still holding back on recruitment, with confidence hovering near its weakest levels since the pandemic, according to a new survey from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

The findings, released on Monday, come a day before official data is expected to show continued softness in the labour market — a key factor for the Bank of England as it weighs its next move on interest rates, which have been on hold since December 2025.

The CIPD's net employment balance held steady at +9, close to its lowest reading outside the COVID-19 crisis. Private-sector hiring intentions remained at +11, matching a record low for non-pandemic times. Just 57% of private-sector employers plan to recruit in the next three months — also a joint post-pandemic low.

Despite the hiring freeze, redundancy levels have not risen. The CIPD describes the current situation as a "low-hire, low-fire" labour market, where firms are neither expanding workforces nor cutting jobs aggressively.

Pay expectations remain subdued, with median expected pay rises stuck at 3% — a level that has held for more than two years.

Skills shortages persist, however. Nearly a third of employers (31%) reported hard-to-fill vacancies, and 14% expect significant recruitment difficulties over the next six months.

The CIPD is urging policymakers to lower hiring costs and provide stronger support for youth employment to break the current stalemate.

The survey drew on responses from 2,017 employers between June 24 and July 24.