FCA proposes consolidated tape
The Financial Conduct Authority has proposed a UK equity tape that would combine all trade data into one feed, with the goal to boost the competitiveness of the markets, increase liquidity, and improve the transparency and affordability of data.
Although, if approved, the tape will not go live until 2027, it has been strongly endorsed in a joint industry statement by AFME, AIMA, IA and UK Finance, who said it “would be a major step in enhancing the competitiveness, transparency and resilience of UK capital markets.”
This signals positive long-term evolution in the UK equity market. Communicators should stay on top of market and policy developments, which may spell an adjustment in roles, economic activity, compliance and future hiring trends.
Pay rises but job hits across the UK
Reuters reports British employers expect to raise wages by 3% over the next year, but many also anticipate a contraction in workforce numbers due to AI.
The CIPD have also reported that hiring intentions are at their weakest since the pandemic suggesting a widening in the gap between numbers of jobseekers and number of jobs.
Announcements that Clifford Chance are making 50 roles redundant in the UK across finance, HR and IT, with a further 35 roles subject to change due primarily to AI, and PwC indicating they will hirer fewer people globally ‘because of the advent of AI’ reinforce these trends.
Although the PwC UK head said that grad job cuts were mostly because of economic turndown, AI’s influence on workforce planning and hiring seems to be accelerating and deepening.
Communicators need to make sure to stay close to leadership to support messaging around role changes, strategy and employee expectations. It’s important to support your colleagues so they can navigate any change as smoothly and effectively as possible, with minimal impact on both wellbeing, and the business.
KPMG and REC report on hiring conditions freshly released
The latest KPMG/REC report shows a significant oversupply of candidates. Out of nine sectors, only Accounting/Finance and Engineering saw rising demand for permanent staff in October.
Permanent vacancies are still falling sharply, but the rate at which they are falling has reduced, and there has been a rise in temporary role billings.
Jon Holt, UK Senior Partner KPMG, noted: “…opportunities are increasing – there just aren’t enough strong signals currently for bosses to commit to building their workforce on a more permanent basis. As we expect both interest rates and inflation to fall further in 2026, we may finally see hiring start to grow more steadily.”
As we wait to see how everything develops, it’s a good time for communicators to double down reinforcing stability without over-promising, providing clarity where possible and maintaining focus on long-term goals, purpose and direction.
