Business

Rise in UK job vacancies for five months in a row likely to fan inflation

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

A rise in job vacancies in the United Kingdom was seen for the fifth month in a row, which is likely to fan inflation as it signalled wage growth and stress in the labour market, Bloomberg reported citing a report by an employment website.

The data given in the report by Adzuna released on Monday is based on every job advertisement in the Kingdom across 1,000 sources.

As many as 1.06 million vacancies across UK were listed on the job search site Adzuna in the month of June, which was 0.78% more than the previous month but lower than the same month in 2022.

As per the data, the advertised salaries witnessed a 3.6% rise as compared to the last year, while the number of days to fill the job openings dropped to a record low.

This showed that employers are still having a hard time hiring the required staff. A likelihood of biding up the wages was also observed which will consequently add to the risks of an inflationary spiral.

As per the report, the Bank of England (BOE) is closely monitoring UK’s job market to have an estimate of how much it further needs to jack up the interest rates to evade a wage-price spiral.

“Despite the recent small rises in unemployment, the labor market is still incredibly tight,” Institute of Employment Studies official Tony Wilson said in the Adzuna report.

A recent report stated that UK saw a 4% hike in national unemployment.

“This poses risks for future inflation. It’s also a reminder that the economy is still creating a lot of opportunities and many of them well paid,” Wilson added.

The numbers from Adzuna stand in stark contrast to those from Reed Recruitment, which revealed that in the three months leading up to May, vacancies in England decreased by roughly a third from their post-pandemic high.

Earlier this month, Chairman James Reed stated that chances of the UK entering a recession have increased due to a “significant” fall in listings over the previous year.

However, Adzuna co-founder seemed optimistic about the outlook for the economy.

“If hiring trends continue to improve, we could be back at the record hiring levels we saw in 2022 by the end of the year.” Hunter said in a statement. “Competition is high amongst employers looking to snap up the best candidates.”

Over the same time period, wage growth surged to 7.3% from a year earlier, beyond the level of comfort, BOE claims is consistent with its 2% inflation target.

London remained the only part of the country without a bump in pay. The biggest annual salary increase was recorded in property, a sector which saw a decline in vacancies year on year.

Business

SFD and Pakistan Sign Two Deals Totaling $1.61BLN

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

Two agreements totaling $1.61 billion have been inked by Pakistan and the Saudi Fund for Development to improve their bilateral economic cooperation.

Business

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan sign an MOU to strengthen their auditing industry collaboration.

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

A spokesperson for the office of the Auditor-General of Pakistan (AGP) announced on Monday that the two countries have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen cooperation in public sector auditing through improved cooperation between audit institutions of both countries, as well as training programs and the exchange of trainers.

This comes as a group from Saudi Arabia’s General Court of Audit (GCA), headed by GCA President Dr. Hussam bin Abdulmohsen Alangari, arrived in Pakistan on Sunday for a four-day visit.

The agreement was signed during AGP Muhammad Ajmal Gondal’s meeting with the Saudi delegates, aiming to strengthen audit cooperation, enhance knowledge-sharing, and improve governance, transparency and accountability in government spending.

Public relations officer Muhammad Raza Irfan of the AGP’s office told Arab News that the deal will further advance bilateral collaboration between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in addition to enhancing professional ties between the two nations’ auditing institutions.

In a statement released from his office, AGP Gondal was cited as saying, “This collaboration marks a significant step toward fostering international cooperation in auditing.”

“The exchange of ideas and methodologies will undoubtedly strengthen our capacity to meet emerging challenges and set new benchmarks for public accountability.”

Discussions at Monday’s meeting focused on fostering closer ties between the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, sharing innovative audit methodologies, and planning collaborative initiatives for the future, according to the AGP office.

The two parties decided to increase their knowledge of theme, environmental, and impact audits as well as to exchange best practices in audit standards, performance audits, and citizen participation audits.

The statement added, “It also agreed to exchange trainers, address new auditing challenges, plan cooperative audits, including a performance audit on the oil and gas sector in 2025, and work together on training programs.”

Both sides reaffirmed their shared commitment to promoting transparency, accountability and excellence in public sector auditing.

Business

The government chooses to continue the PIA privatization process.

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) privatization process will be restarted by the federal government, and expressions of interest would be requested within the month. Officials stated that the Prime Minister’s Committee on Privatization will convene to make the final decision.

Usman Bajwa, the secretary of the Privatization Commission, gave a briefing on the updated procedure to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Privatization. Additionally, he disclosed that airlines other than PIA are now able to compete with regional carriers thanks to IMF-approved aircraft tax concessions.

Farooq Sattar, the chairman of the privatization committee, underlined the importance of giving PIA workers at least five years of job security. Employee protection will continue to be a top priority and will be resolved prior to bidding, the Privatization Commission promised.

PIA’s liabilities totaling Rs650 billion have already been assumed by the government, and an additional Rs45 billion in outstanding debts must be paid before the privatization process can begin. As of the now, PIA has assets around Rs155 billion and liabilities worth Rs200 billion. It will be necessary for the new buyer to expand the fleet by 15 to 20 aircraft.

Additionally, the Privatization Committee has sought a timeline for the privatization of Faisalabad, Gujranwala, and Islamabad Electric Supply Companies. Officials stated that after the appointment of a financial advisor, the privatization process for these companies will accelerate.