As another year wraps up, we want to take a moment to say a huge thank you to you, our customers. Whether you’ve recruited, looked for a new role or taken part in one of our programmes, your trust and support has made 2023 such a positive year for us. It’s been a pleasure to work with each and every one of you.

We genuinely read and appreciate every comment you make about us, and use your feedback to help us grow and improve. 

A cautious, but optimistic, year

2023 has been a year of cautious optimism in the recruitment industry as a whole. Political and economic uncertainty mean both job seekers and hirers have been taking a more considered approach. Hiring processes have taken longer compared to previous years as both hirers and job seekers have shown greater scrutiny before making decisions.

Luckily this is already one of Pure’s strengths. So we’ve continued to provide our usual comprehensive service, building trusted relationships with both clients and candidates alike, and acting as true partners. Here are just a few of our 2023 success stories:

• we found the perfect person for a complicated supply chain position
• we helped an HR professional find a job at an organisation with a mission and a culture that aligned with her values
• we ran another successful Best Employers Eastern Region, our flagship employee engagement programme, and introduced a new HR event called the People Leaders Lab
• we created a new environmental, social and governance statement.

In 2023 we’ve seen the following trends:

• the decline in permanent vacancies is easing
• the number of temporary roles available is on the rise
• the number of active job seekers is also increasing
• the demand for specialist skills remains high.

A new milestone

This year we helped:

• 1,330 people find jobs
• 900 businesses and organisations find the right people for their teams.

We’re delighted to share that since we started out in 2002 over 30,000 people have found new roles with our help. This means we’re now within touching distance of our goal of 35,000 by 2025.

You can find out more about how we’ve been helping people and organisations across our region in 2023 in this article.

Giving back

Through fundraising and our Best Employers programme, we’ve raised £192,000 for local charities – that’s even more than we did last year. Some of the organisations we donated to included:

• East Anglian Air Ambulance – a charity providing life-saving critical care, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, by air and road
• Illuminate – a not-for-profit organisation specialising in mental health and wellbeing coaching and training to help people make positive changes
• SARS – a charity providing specialist volunteer responders to help the East of England Ambulance Service at the scenes of serious incidents
• Trust Links – a local independent charity aiming to improve mental health, wellbeing and the environment in Essex
• Woodgreen – an animal shelter that rehomes unwanted, stray or injured pets.

Looking forward to 2024

Reflecting on the moments that made 2023 special – and in particular your enthusiasm and loyalty – has made us really excited for what next year will bring. We can’t wait to continue this journey together.

Wishing you a fantastic Christmas and a cracking 2024 from all of us at Pure.