Marking the first rise in job postings since June 2024, the REC said every region in the UK benefited, with the largest increase in the East Midlands (11.7%) and the smallest in London (3.4%).
The chancellor has received a fillip after the market research company GfK’s consumer index improved from -22 in January to -20 in February as households said they were more optimistic about their personal finances and the economic outlook.
A separate survey of employers by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) found that companies had increased hiring in January for the first time since last June.
The REC, a lobby group for recruiters, said its survey of businesses found that the number of job postings in January was 1,516,535 – an increase of 7.2% on the previous month.
Neil Bellamy, the consumer insights director at NIQ GfK, said there was a contrast between January, when the five main measures of consumer confidence were all down, and February when they all increased.
