The Agenda:
Who is hiring?
Top HR and work-related articles
Tips for CV making, job search, interviews, and career progression
Industries trends
Leadership
Recruitment news
Freelancing news
Vocational guidance
Mindfulness
Psychological insert
Top stories from my clients
Blog recap
Alert: If you feel it’s time to invest in your personal and professional growth, message me privately. 📩
Have a look at my portfolio: https://www.careerformulas.com/my-services
Who is hiring?
Employment and inactivity have seen a slight improvement, while unemployment levels remain unchanged.
Data indicate a discrepancy between the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and HMRC PAYE statistics.
The decline in employment levels shown by administrative data is not mirrored by the LFS.
Over the last five years, the European workforce has decreased by 800,000 individuals.
Long-term health issues continue to be the primary reason for inactivity, and those suffering from long-term health problems are experiencing growing employment disparities.
Young individuals, especially those aged 16-24, have experienced a slight decrease in economic activity, yet they still confront an expanding employment gap.
Current labour market statistics reveal a notable drop in employer confidence, with job vacancies decreasing for the 37th consecutive quarter and a further reduction in the number of payrolled workers.
Sectors that rely heavily on labour, such as hospitality, administration, retail, construction, and manufacturing, have also experienced significant declines in payrolled employees.
The reduction in job vacancies and employment within hospitality highlights the effects of rising employer expenses, particularly due to the increases in National Insurance contributions (NICs) and the National Living Wage (NLW) that were implemented in April.
The downturn in vacancies and payrolled positions in areas like information and communication, as well as professional, scientific and technical activities, may not only reflect cost pressures but also efficiency improvements from the integration of AI technologies.
The slowdown in wage growth, employment gaps among specific demographic groups, along with the decline in vacancies and payrolls, suggests a growing caution among employers and a cooling labour market.
-
Growth Forecasts:
Real GDP growth forecasts for 2025 were revised up for the US, Canada, the eurozone, the UK, and China due to stronger-than-expected Q2 data.
Forecasts for India and Brazil were revised down for 2025–26, mainly because of higher US tariffs.
Global growth is expected to slow in H2 2025 due to tariff effects, policy uncertainty, and tight monetary conditions, but a recovery is projected for 2026, supported by monetary easing and fiscal stimulus (notably in the US and Germany).
The Middle East is an exception, with growth dampened by expected oil price declines.
Trade and Tariffs:
Tariff policy remains a major source of uncertainty.
August US reciprocal tariff announcements were somewhat less severe than earlier ones, boosting market sentiment.
Risks remain around Section 232 tariffs and ongoing negotiations with China, Canada, and Mexico.
Rising tariffs are pushing up US goods inflation—core goods inflation hit 1.1% in July (highest since June 2023).
Price pressures are strong in the US but remain muted in the eurozone and China.
Oil price forecasts for 2026 were revised down due to expected oversupply.
Monetary Policy Outlook:
The Fed may cut rates earlier than expected, but the base case is a 25 bps cut in December 2025; markets are pricing ~60 bps of cuts by year-end and a 3% Fed funds rate by end-2026 (down from 4.25–4.50%).
Leadership changes at the Fed may add uncertainty about its inflation-fighting stance.
Other central banks may extend rate cuts as inflation eases, but currency weakness could limit their scope, especially if the US dollar rebounds.
The ECB is expected to hold rates at 2%, halved from post-pandemic peaks.
Some emerging markets (Brazil, Russia) are moving away from restrictive policies as growth slows.
(New York Public Library)
-
Top multinationals hiring right now:
https://www.employment-studies.co.uk/news/august-labour-market-statistics-comment-institute-employment-studies-1
https://www.spglobal.com/market-intelligence/en/news-insights/research/2025/08/global-economic-outlook-august-2025
Top HR and work-related articles
Government backs predictive NHS recruitment.
The UK government has announced that NHS employers in England will now be able to hire newly qualified nurses and midwives based on workforce projections rather than existing vacancies.
The aim is to create thousands of new opportunities, ensure a smoother transition from training to employment, and address staffing shortages.
Measures include temporarily converting some support worker roles into midwifery posts to expand graduate opportunities.
HR experts emphasised that effective workforce planning requires moving away from reactive hiring toward strategic forecasting, supported by AI-driven analytics, skills-based hiring, and workforce planning tools.
These approaches help organisations identify evolving skills needs, close gaps proactively, and build internal talent pipelines.
The Royal College of Nursing welcomed the move but stressed that success will be measured by whether graduates can actually secure jobs.
Employers also raised concerns about funding clarity. Health secretary Wes Streeting said the reforms would prevent trained nurses and midwives from being left jobless and would help reduce NHS waiting lists.
-
ILO launches Global Policy Tracker on Digital Labour Platforms.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has launched a global policy tracker to monitor legislative initiatives regulating digital labour platforms.
The platform economy has created new opportunities, especially for women, youth, and people with disabilities, but also raises challenges around fair pay, social protection, safety, and workers’ rights.
The tracker, part of the ILO Observatory on AI and Work in the Digital Economy, compiles national and regional regulations to support governments, employers, workers, and researchers in shaping evidence-based policies.
It highlights how countries address key issues such as employment status, pay, algorithmic management, data privacy, working conditions, and collective bargaining, to foster decent work in the digital economy.
(Women in India employed in the textile sector)
https://www.ilo.org/resource/news/ilo-launches-global-policy-tracker-digital-labour-platforms
https://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/content/news/government-backs-predictive-nhs-recruitment
Tips for CV making, job search, interviews, and career progression
How to Ace Your Remote Interview: Advice from HR Experts and Career Strategists.
Remote interviews share many fundamentals with in-person interviews but come with unique challenges, including technical issues, limited non-verbal cues, and building rapport through a screen.
