The CIPD’s latest quarterly Labour Market Outlook report reveals that the net employment balance – which measures the difference between employers expecting to increase staff levels in the next three months and those expecting to decrease staff levels – remains positive but has fallen to the lowest overall level since winter 2020/21. The report also confirms that decreasing staff levels will be high on the agenda in 2024, in response to higher wage costs and reduced profits in the private sector during the period of high inflation.