Employer Confidence Hits 12 Month High
The latest outlook for the job market from the UK’s trade association, the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC), shows that confidence among employers has soared to highest level in a year.
The latest outlook for the job market from the UK’s trade association, the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC), shows that confidence among employers has soared to highest level in a year.
According to the REC, demand for temporary workers remains strong and a significant proportion of employers are planning to increase their permanent staff. In their JobsOutlook for May, the REC said 44 per cent of the employers they surveyed intend to increase permanent staff in the next three months with 52 per cent planning to hire new staff during the next 12 months.
There’s also good news when it comes to headcount freezes, which the survey says continued to fall in April, reaching 20 per cent – a dramatic improvement on the 43 per cent peak figure in late 2010.
Short and medium term demand for temporary workers also remains strong as businesses look to build crucial flexibility into their workforce planning. A total of 22 per cent plan to add to their numbers of agency workers in the next three months with the same percentage planning an increase over the next 12 months. Some employers plan to gradually reduce their use of temporary staff over the coming year which reflects increasing willingness to start hiring permanent staff.
Whilst the data reflects a more bullish outlook for the jobs market, there was a more downbeat view on the public sector. The survey confirms the emergence of a two tier jobs market, with 60 per cent of public sector employers predicting a significant impact on their workforces as government cuts begin to bite. Hope that the private sector will absorb a large number of the job losses is far from guaranteed and the transition is unlikely to be straightforward with job seekers likely to need a good deal of support and guidance in the process.