Exploring 2026 labour market dynamics with Neil Carberry OBE
Exploring 2026 labour market dynamics with Neil Carberry OBE
In the first episode of 2026, Neil Carberry, CEO of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation returns to the podcast to discuss labour market trends with Jen, Dom and Cat. The REC’s monthly report on jobs, produced by S&P Global in association with KPMG, has become a go-to resource for enhanced understanding of UK labour market dynamics. Hiring, employment, redundancies, unemployment, salaries and wage inflation or stagnation all have implications for internal communicators and the way they interact with colleagues and other stakeholders.
As economic instability continues to confound politicians across the spectrum, the UK labour market remains fragile. With more young people than ever before not in education, employment or training (NEET) and the ever-present threat of AI-induced job losses, internal communicators must find novel ways to marry the delivery of key organisational information with the concerns of increasingly stressed and anxious workforces.
In this episode, Neil Carberry shares his latest reflections on the current and emergent state of the UK labour market, offering insights for the internal communication professionals as they consider their priorities for 2026.
Neil Carberry was appointed as Chief Executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation in June 2018. He began his career in recruitment in 1999, before doing a post-graduate degree in Human Resources at the London School of Economics and specialising in employment relations. Joining the CBI in 2004, he led the CBI’s work on the labour market, skills, energy and infrastructure. Neil spent a decade as a member of the council of the conciliation service ACAS and two terms as member of the Low Pay Commission, which recommends UK minimum wages. He was appointed an OBE in the King’s Birthday Honours List of 2025. Neil is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD, a Fellow of the RSA and a member of the Company of HR Professionals. A seven-time nominee to the SIA staffing100 in Europe, Neil is also on the board and exec of the World Employment Confederation and of a Multi-Academy Trust in England. Neil is an RFU-qualified rugby referee and coach and is one of the 8000 co-owners who made Heart of Midlothian the UK’s biggest fan-owned football club.
In this update, we share key emerging employment trends: 'quiet cracking' replaces 'quiet quitting’ while companies start ‘quiet cutting’; freelancing is going mainstream; culture is trumping policy for RTO success; workplace fun is helping to drive performance; and consumer boycotts are increasingly impacting talent retention. All of these workplace shifts and undercurrents are reshaping how organisations need to engage with colleagues.
Post-pandemic, the global economy remains in turmoil. War, escalating geopolitical tensions, extreme weather events, supply chain shortages, rising inequality, shifting attitudes towards work and capitalism and more are reshaping the labour market.
While hard to discern in the moment, these shifts and undercurrents nonetheless have a profound impact on how organisations hire and engage with people at work. Internal communicators have a pivotal role to play in maintaining community and cohesion across increasingly diverse and transient workforces. Our quarterly employment updates help internal communication professionals stay informed and think more expansively about ways they can deliver strategic value.
Post-pandemic, the global economy remains in turmoil. War, escalating geopolitical tensions, extreme weather events, supply chain shortages, rising inequality, shifting attitudes towards work and capitalism and more are reshaping the labour market.
While hard to discern in the moment, these shifts and undercurrents nonetheless have a profound impact on how organisations hire and engage with people at work. Internal communicators have a pivotal role to play in maintaining community and cohesion across increasingly diverse and transient workforces. Our quarterly employment updates help internal communication professionals stay informed and think more expansively about ways they can deliver strategic value.
As global stability deteriorates, anxiety is on the rise. Internal communicators must assimilate the wants, needs and expectations of increasingly diverse internal stakeholders. Only then can organisations harness the full potential of colleagues across the age spectrum, who are pushing back on top-down, centralised, and increasingly outdated, command and control management archetypes.
In this mercurial new landscape, internal communication is a meta-skill that increasingly underpins organisational success. Our quarterly people updates help internal communication professionals stay informed and think more expansively about ways they can deliver strategic value.
Next year, Generation Z will be the biggest generation in the workplace. What impact does this major shift have on employee engagement and what should communicators know – and do – to make the most of the advantages? IoIC President Suzanne Peck reviews the opportunities.
In an increasingly decentralised world of work, today’s talent getting their feet under your workbench might be a mix of contractors, temporary workers and permanent staff. How do you get your diverse team to march together in the same direction?
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Transcript for S15 E01 Exploring 2026 labour market dynamics with Neil Carberry
