UK vacancy growth the fastest for 15 years
7 February 2014
UK vacancies grew at the fastest rate since May 1998, according to the latest REC/KPMG ‘Report on Jobs’.
Fri, 7 Feb 2014UK vacancies grew at the fastest rate since May 1998, according to the latest REC/KPMG ‘Report on Jobs’.
The report found that the growth in job vacancies accelerated in January, with the pace of expansion being the fastest for more than 15 years.
In other signs that the economic recovery is feeding through into the jobs market, permanent staff placements continued to increase strongly, although the pace of expansion eased from December’s 45-month high.
Similarly, temporary billings rose at a rate only slightly less than December’s 15-year peak.
As the labour market continued to heat up in January, the availability of both permanent and temporary/contract staff continued to fall.
All four English regions saw a drop in the availability of both permanent and temporary staff, with the Midlands seeing the fastest drop in both permanent and temporary labour availability.
The report found that as the construction and housing sectors picked up, demand for permanent construction and engineering workers soared in January, with recruiters struggling to source skilled people to satisfy this demand.
Bernard Brown, partner and head of business services at KPMG, says: “Employer confidence continues to grow, with the thirst for new staff hitting a 15-and-a-half year high in January. In a week showing improvements to UK construction figures and growth across the Eurozone manufacturing industry, it shouldn’t come as a surprise if other sectors begin to report peaks in performance.
“The warning has been noted by employees because, although jobs are being created, January saw another decline in the number of people putting themselves on the jobs market. The preference seems to be for temporary roles, suggesting that employees are adopting a ‘try before you buy’ mentality before committing to long-term roles.”
Tom Hadley, director of policy and professional services at the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC), says: “This again underlines just how critical the issue of skills shortages is becoming, as businesses will not be able to contribute to economic growth if they cannot find the skilled workers they need. Part of the solution is to develop a careers guidance network that is fit for purpose and raises awareness of growth sectors and current and future skills needs.”
In other positive news, think-tank NIESR (National Institute of Economic and Social Research) says it expects UK unemployment to fall to 6.6% this year, while accountancy firm Grant Thornton predicts that the UK economy will grow by 1.5% in the first quarter of the year.
The report found that the growth in job vacancies accelerated in January, with the pace of expansion being the fastest for more than 15 years.
In other signs that the economic recovery is feeding through into the jobs market, permanent staff placements continued to increase strongly, although the pace of expansion eased from December’s 45-month high.
Similarly, temporary billings rose at a rate only slightly less than December’s 15-year peak.
As the labour market continued to heat up in January, the availability of both permanent and temporary/contract staff continued to fall.
All four English regions saw a drop in the availability of both permanent and temporary staff, with the Midlands seeing the fastest drop in both permanent and temporary labour availability.
The report found that as the construction and housing sectors picked up, demand for permanent construction and engineering workers soared in January, with recruiters struggling to source skilled people to satisfy this demand.
Bernard Brown, partner and head of business services at KPMG, says: “Employer confidence continues to grow, with the thirst for new staff hitting a 15-and-a-half year high in January. In a week showing improvements to UK construction figures and growth across the Eurozone manufacturing industry, it shouldn’t come as a surprise if other sectors begin to report peaks in performance.
“The warning has been noted by employees because, although jobs are being created, January saw another decline in the number of people putting themselves on the jobs market. The preference seems to be for temporary roles, suggesting that employees are adopting a ‘try before you buy’ mentality before committing to long-term roles.”
Tom Hadley, director of policy and professional services at the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC), says: “This again underlines just how critical the issue of skills shortages is becoming, as businesses will not be able to contribute to economic growth if they cannot find the skilled workers they need. Part of the solution is to develop a careers guidance network that is fit for purpose and raises awareness of growth sectors and current and future skills needs.”
In other positive news, think-tank NIESR (National Institute of Economic and Social Research) says it expects UK unemployment to fall to 6.6% this year, while accountancy firm Grant Thornton predicts that the UK economy will grow by 1.5% in the first quarter of the year.
