The Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) have reported that the results of their latest JobsOutlook Survey (The REC’s monthly survey of 600 employers) shows that 74% of employers plan to employ permanent staff in the following three months.
Confidence levels are improving according to 80% of employers who responded, with 46% stating that they expect investment and hiring to improve.
71% of employers anticipate hiring permanent staff in the medium term with 41% increasing earnings for staff in the last 12 months – none reported any pay reductions.
Interestingly, 99% of all respondents reported that their flexible or agency workers are paid more than or the same as if they were a permanent employee.
A shortage of candidates for managerial and professional positions is being anticipated by 14% of employers. 11% expect to see candidate shortages for roles in construction and 11% also believe there will be a scarcity of candidates for engineering and technical positions in the coming year.
The vast majority are busy with 96% of businesses reporting they have little or no spare capacity surplus capacity to take on more work.
REC chief executive Kevin Green says:
“Our data shows that almost all businesses are operating at capacity and want to take on more staff to meet demand, but the reality is that chronic skills shortages are making this difficult.
For workers the outlook is good. Starting salaries continue to rise as employers compete for talent, and permanent and temporary opportunities are available to those with the required skills and capability.
With candidates in short supply employers need to think hard about how they attract jobseekers. Longer term, business, government and educators must work together to help alleviate the skills shortages so that candidates are equipped with the skills that employers need. It’s concerning that instead of meeting this challenge the government is making it harder for employers to bring in the people they need from overseas with the proposed changes to Tier 2 visas.”