Had an enjoyable and informative presentation on Wednesday 8th November by Graeme Chaplin and Glynn Jones (Bank of England Agency for the West Midlands) on the Bank of England’s November Inflation report.

It was great to hear the Bank’s latest forecast for the UK economy and how it may affect the people and businesses that we work in partnership with in the West Midlands.

UK unemployment has dropped to 4.3%, and businesses are in general increasingly finding difficulties in recruiting talent. This is leading to around 30% more businesses increasing use of external recruitment support with specialised firms like Churchill Howard. This low supply of labour may also lead to a slight increase in pay growth next year with expectations that growth could be clustered around 2.5%–3.5% rather than the 2%–3% growth of 2017.

Thoroughly grateful to all those involved in running the event and very keen to develop further partnerships with businesses and finance professionals throughout the West Midlands.