Number of UK job hunters rises at fastest rate since Covid pandemic

Recruitment body blames ‘scar tissue’ left by April tax increases as starting salaries rise only modestly in June

The number of people hunting for jobs in Britain surged in June at the fastest rate since the height of the Covid pandemic, industry figures show, amid growing business fears over tax rises and the economic outlook.

The snapshot from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and the accountancy firm KPMG showed the number of new candidates looking for work rose at the sharpest rate since November 2020, when the UK entered the second nationwide lockdown.