The future

When asked about the wider economic climate, 67% said they were not very optimistic, with the remaining 33% saying they feel uncertain. The number one cause for employers increasingly feeling pessimistic is inflation. Other key factors include managing change and the rising cost of living for staff.

Positively, all employers we surveyed expect their firm’s output to either stay the same or increase in the next 12 months. Not one business or organisation told us that they are expecting decreases in their firm’s output.

Although, despite this optimism around production, only 33% of Legal employers are expecting to hire in the next 12 months, which may affect a firm’s ability to deliver and meet job seeker demand.

Our data found that there is no real consensus among employees when it comes to salary adjustments. 56% said they are expecting their pay to change in the next 12 months, while 44% believe it will remain the same – which shows that uncertainty exists across the market.

In previous years, the future has been relatively easy to forecast. Prior to the war in Ukraine, the pandemic and Brexit, global politics were more stable. As a result, future trends could be predicted based on past behaviours.

Now, many of the things we’re seeing in the global political sphere are unprecedented. Therefore, beyond educated guesses, it’s difficult to foresee what may happen.