Against a backdrop of employer confidence in the UK’s economy plummeting to its lowest since the UK’s vote to leave the European Union, there is also a shortage of suitably skilled candidates.

The ‘JobsOutlook’ survey revealed a net balance of -14 as a measure of confidence in the economy, while more than a third (35%) of respondents think that the country’s economic conditions are worsening, contrasting with 22%, who think they are improving. The net balance of hiring and investment decisions has also fallen by two points to nine.

Meanwhile, more than a third of respondents (34%) see political and economic uncertainty is the main challenge to their business. A shortage of suitable candidates for jobs is cited as the other main challenge, however, for 24% of employers.

The message is in contrast to more optimistic views from recruiters asked about the leaked government Brexit documents as reported yesterday.

The survey of 600 employers also finds:

• The proportion of employers responding ‘don’t know’ when asked about short-term hiring intentions for temporary staff has increased noticeably to 27% from 9% at the same point of 2017.
• The net balance of employers planning to increase rather than cut permanent staff over the next three months has gradually fallen from 19 in January 2017 to 14 today.
• Employers in London have the strongest reaction to uncertainty, with 49% unsure about the number of temporary workers in their organisation in the quarter. Additionally, the number of employers transferring more than half of their temporary staff to permanent status has gone down (5% in January 2018 compared to 16% at the same point last year).

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