Exploring 2026 labour market dynamics with Neil Carberry OBE

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.

About Neil Carberry OBE, Chief Executive, REC

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.

Find Neil on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neil-carberry-obe-95948938/

REC: https://www.rec.uk.com/