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Over half of UK employees will not move jobs due to ‘low pay’

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Majority of employers feel confident about their hiring efforts, but over half of Brits won’t move jobs due to ‘low pay’

A new study from the CV-Library, reveals that despite 91.1 per cent of employers feeling confident about their hiring efforts right now, 57.1 per cent of working professionals aren’t moving jobs because they believe the salaries on offer aren’t high enough.

The study of 2,000 UK professionals and 200 UK employers found that despite this trend, 71.4 per cent of workers feel confident about their job hunt, with 86.5 per cent actively searching for a new position. At the same time, 74 per cent of UK businesses plan to increase their hiring efforts in the next six months, though this may not come to fruition if they don’t provide the financial rewards that professionals are after.

Other key findings include:

Aside from salaries not being high enough, 53.1 per cent of workers are worried they don’t have enough experience to do the jobs they want to; Alongside this, just over a quarter (28 per cent) of UK workers say a lack of confidence is putting them off applying for a new job, rising to 33.7per cent amongst women; Some employers are also feeling nervous, with 39 per cent stating that low budgets are preventing them from hiring, as well as the current economy (26.5 per cent)

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Lee Biggins, founder and CEO of CV-Library, comments,

It’s clear from our findings that employers are not allowing the state of the UK economy to affect their hiring efforts. Confidence is certainly key in the current market and while our latest job market data tells us that salaries have jumped up by 4.1per cent across Britain, professionals are still discontent with the level of pay on offer in the UK.

The war for talent is as competitive as ever. This means that businesses need to pull out all the stops in order to impress potential recruits. While it’s not always an option to offer sky-high salaries, consider what else you can do to sway candidates. A bigger holiday allowance, the opportunity to work from home, better workplace perks; these are all areas that can impact someone’s decision on whether to join your company or not.

In terms of staff retention, 72.2 per cent of employers aren’t worried about existing employees leaving their business, with 91.8 per cent stating that they’re confident about retaining staff over the next six months. This is despite 22.5 per cent of UK professionals worrying that they might lose their job, rising to 27.2 per cent amongst 45-54 year olds.

Biggins continues,

The national employment rate is at an all-time high, meaning more people are in work than ever before. This is certainly positive news for employers that are looking to retain key members of staff and this should always be a priority for companies. However, at the same time, it does mean that less people are actively looking for work, which could slow down company growth when it comes to hiring for new roles.

Looking to the future, 51.9per cent of businesses are confident that there’s enough UK talent to fill their roles, with 57.1per cent stating that they will focus on improving the quality of their hires in the next six months, as well as growing their workforce as a whole (54.5per cent).

 

Interested in recruitment and retention? We recommend the Recruitment and Retention Conference 2019.

Aphrodite is a creative writer and editor specialising in publishing and communications. She is passionate about undertaking projects in diverse sectors. She has written and edited copy for media as varied as social enterprise, art, fashion and education. She is at her most happy owning a project from its very conception, focusing on the client and project research in the first instance, and working closely with CEOs and Directors throughout the consultation process. Much of her work has focused on rebranding; messaging and tone of voice is one of her expertise, as is a distinctively unique writing style in my most of her creative projects. Her work is always driven by the versatility of language to galvanise image and to change perception, as it is by inspiring and being inspired by the wondrous diversity of people with whom paths she crosses cross!

Aphrodite has had a variety of high profile industry clients as a freelancer, and previously worked for a number of years as an Editor and Journalist for Prospects.ac.uk.

Aphrodite is also a professional painter.

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