The Market Post-Brexit
The Market Post-Brexit
Brexit has been the most polarising topic in recent UK history, especially since the landmark referendum result on 23rd June 2016. This is hardly surprising given that the vote was split almost down the middle – 51.9% vs. 48.1% in favour of leaving the European Union.
It is hard to believe that four and a half years have passed since that day and just 8 days remain before its result actually comes to pass. So what will the London market look like post-Brexit? As a leading recruitment agency in London, we’ve provided an analysis of what we believe will be the market trends post-Brexit.
The impact will vary according to the industry sector and of course depending on the outcome of the final deal, but we can take an educated guess based on what we have witnessed since 2016 as sectors and businesses have acted and progressed with an unknown deal scenario having been the case throughout.
The services sector makes up a massive 80% of the British economy, with financial services accounting for a high proportion of that total. Despite predictions that investment banks would relocate hundreds of thousands of employees to alternate European hubs, less than 10,000 have been redeployed to date.
Meanwhile the challenger banks, such as Monzo, Tide, Revolut and Starling amongst others, many of which were founded within the last five years, have soared in popularity with combined employee numbers growing in their thousands.
Their growth, during a period of intense uncertainty in relation to Brexit, suggests that the Financial Services sector will continue to innovate, thrive and will continue to recruit regardless of whether the UK is part, or not part, of the EU and regardless of what trade deal terms may or may not be agreed.
Closely aligned to the above is the burgeoning technology sector, and again we have to ask ourselves, how have companies such as Google, Facebook, Amazon and Uber handled the Brexit uncertainty and planned for the unknown Brexit outcome in the UK? In short, they have grown, and grown rapidly. As have their smaller and medium sized competitors across the sector.
Brexit has at times felt all-consuming within in the UK. Reassuringly perhaps – on the global stage – there are many prosperous countries that sit outside the European Union and successfully trade with the European Union. We have also learned, especially during 2020, that technology enables us to connect and trade across countries and continents. It appears that companies within the key growth sector of technology have flourished and will continue to recruit despite what the post-Brexit market looks like.
This should also be good news for large numbers of accounting and legal firms who populate the UK and whose infrastructure and network are deeply embedded in the professional fabric that supports other sectors’ growth.
There are, of course, negative outcomes for certain sectors and consumers: we are likely to see higher food prices due to tariffs and import taxes impacting the retail sector. Over 25% of the food we consume is grown in Europe so we may see shortages of certain foods as a result until alternative supply chains are established.
Equally, the manufacturing industry could be hard hit as tariffs could erode profit margins. The UK car industry could be similarly affected due to very tight supply chains. The aviation industry, which has already been hit hard through COVID, has no legal framework for planes to fly freely across EU countries in the event of no deal. The farming industry, which currently received £2.4 billion every year in subsidies, will undergo a 7-year funding transformation from subsidy to support around quality food and animal welfare.
Individuals, organisations and jobseekers will inevitably need to adjust in 2021, with much of it being initially challenging as alterations to the new landscape are made. There is also a sense of significant frustration either with the original outcome, or with what may well be viewed as a political failure to reach a better deal and outcome for all sides.
Having said that, as we consider the workplace and its prospects in both the traditional and growth sectors – those which provide the most office-based work and which make up the majority of the UK’s GDP – the future looks promising and indeed encouraging in the post-Brexit market.
If you are a candidate looking for your next temporary or permanent office support role in London, or a client requiring assistance in recruitment please contact our team so we can help you with your search at hello@australasian.co.uk
Take care, stay positive and we hope to see you soon!