Employment Hero‘s November UK Jobs Report, based on real-time data from over 110,000 employee records has found that while small businesses are driving a modest rebound in employment, with employment up 1.7 per cent in November, the recovery is fractured across the country. The resulting uncertainty is impacting workers, many of whom have been looking for new job opportunities in 2025.
Small businesses continue to push the labour market forward, despite the pace of growth slowing and remaining below pre-2025 levels. UK employment among SMEs rose again in November and is now 4 per cent higher than in August. But the year-on-year picture is weaker: employment is up 2.0 per cent compared with last year, well below the 7-8 per cent annual increases typically seen before April’s employment law changes.
This slowdown is occurring as larger firms ease off on hiring, according to recent KPMG and Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) data. Against this backdrop, SMEs are still expanding – a sign of resilience in a difficult economic climate.
While the national picture is that of slow recovery, a regional imbalance persists. The East leads the nation with a substantial 12.1 per cent annual rise in employment – the strongest performance of any region – followed closely by the South at 9.1 per cent. Elsewhere, hiring momentum is far weaker: the Midlands saw a modest 2.6 per cent annual gain but London remains flat at -0.2 per cent and the North is declining at -3.8 per cent.
Wage growth tells a similarly uneven story. The East has seen a buoyant 9.7 per cent annual rise, while the North has risen to 3.6 per cent, outpacing London, the South and the Midlands.
Nationally, wages rose 0.8 per cent month-on-month, but with inflation at 2.3 per cent, workers are still losing out in real terms. The data shows that job creation and pay growth are being driven by different forces, making traditional trends increasingly unpredictable.
Commenting on the findings, Kevin Fitzgerald, UK Managing Director at Employment Hero said: “We continue to see small businesses showing real resilience and leading the employment growth rebound in the UK. However, the recovery is fragmented, and this unevenness is creating uncertainty for both employers and staff. SMEs face the difficult task of keeping wages moving, supporting flexibility, and offering meaningful work – all at a time when costs are rising and local challenges vary dramatically. Yet despite this, they continue to grow, which is remarkable.”
