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Bleak future ahead for UK recruitment

Wednesday 10th March 2010

By Mike Jones

The UK may have officially crept out of recession but concerns of a "jobless recovery" loom as employers expect a slow return to hiring stability.

Recruitment and outsourcing specialist Manpower published data from one of the first forward-looking labour market surveys since the recovery began. The data shows a slim return to hiring confidence forecast for Q2 2010 in the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey of 2100 UK employers – with a Seasonally Adjusted Net Employment Outlook of +1% reported.

Mark Cahill, Managing Director at Manpower UK, said: "The UK’s emergence from recession is certainly positive news, but there is still unprecedented confusion in the labour market with rising levels of people claiming benefits and static unemployment levels, too.

"Our survey provides some clarity to the situation though, revealing the highs and lows of the employment landscape in what will likely be another challenging year for employers and job seekers.”

Looking at the industry sectors; emerging from the recession in best shape is Utilities at +6%, whose employers are the most positive of the nine industry sectors surveyed, followed by those in Finance & Business Services at +5%, and the Public and Manufacturing sectors – both of which are at +1%. At the other end of the scale, Transport & Telecommunications is the hardest hit sector at -7%, and employers in the Construction sector, an industry particularly hard hit during 2009, also report downbeat hiring confidence for the next three months at -2%.

"While the Public sector has recently come under high media scrutiny, employers there are reporting positive hiring intentions for the quarter ahead," Cahill said.

"This sector remains the UK’s largest employer, and therefore the importance of having the best workplace solutions is critical. Job cuts may be the fastest route to short-term cost-cutting but implementing innovative workforce transformations such as those seen in the private sector, will allow for recurring savings and flexibility in the long-term. The ongoing health and efficiency of the Public Sector needs to be re-engineered by changing the way that front line services are delivered to meet increasing consumer demand."

Looking at the 12 UK regions surveyed, there is an inconsistent picture of prospective labour market activity for the next three months. Employers in East Anglia report the most positive outlook at +12%, London is flat at 0%, while employers in the automotive manufacturing hub, the West Midlands, are the least positive at -9%. However, significant improvements since last quarter are reported by employers in the North West, South East, Yorkshire & Humberside and Wales.

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