This is reflected in above average levels of confidence across the professional services sector, including accountancy firms, as demand for skilled workers is buoyant, while firms are offering inflated salaries to retain and attract new talent.

‘Many firms are already paying inflated salaries to attract new talent or to retain talent due to there still being a shortage of high calibre candidates that specialise in professional services,’ said Nicky Acuna Ocana, managing director at recruiter Ambition. ‘With a softer demand in worker vacancies, firms are pushing inflated salaries to retain and attract new talent.

‘We have not seen many firms offering salary increases purely to help staff through the cost of living crisis.