However, the immediate future looks less bright, the survey of 1,056 UK employers found, with hiring intentions for Q3 2020 sharply down to -12%, with steep falls across all major sectors.

Revealing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the survey also found that nearly half of employers report that 50% or more of their normal business activities have been suspended, with stark differences across sectors: 40% of companies in the financial and business services sector have seen significant levels of disruption, while 72% of hospitality & retail sector, along with the same percentage in the transport & communications sector, have experienced high disruption.

Bright spots for Q3 hiring intentions are agriculture, with +11% of employers reporting that they intend to hire, and +2% of public sector employers intending to hire.

Also, said, Mark Cahill, UK MD at ManpowerGroup UK: “It is worth reiterating that around three-quarters of employers we spoke to expect to retain current staffing levels in the coming quarter and just over half expect to return to pre-Covid-19 hiring levels during the beginning of next year.”

He added: “The uniquely difficult circumstances will mean that some of us will do roles that have never existed before and others will never do the same role again. In the past few weeks we have seen thousands of requests globally for roles that have never existed before, such as contact tracers and temperature checkers.”

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