UK Jobs Rebound Meets Hot US Data: More Fuel for a Fed Rate Hike?

UK permanent job placements rose for the first time since September 2022, arriving a few days after a stronger-than-expected US jobs report pushed Federal Reserve rate hike bets sharply higher. The overlap gives investors a rare side-by-side read on two major economies at once.

British hiring is showing its first real signs of a turn, even as US data complicates the Fed’s rate path.

UK Recruiters See a Genuine Turn The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), a UK trade body for staffing firms, and accountancy firm KPMG track permanent placements each month.

Their index rose to 50.5 in August from July’s flat reading of 50.0, the first print above the no-change line in nearly four years. Temporary billings grew at their second-fastest pace in more than three years.