Employers ‘recruiting again but optimistic’

Although many UK employers are beginning to recruit new staff again, many managers are continuing to be cautiously optimistic, which may mean many job opportunities will be flexible, rather than permanent.

Such is the assertion of Tom Hadley, director of external affairs at the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), who said a lot of businesses understand that the situation is still fragile.

In light of this, many firms were attempting to maintain a balance between making cuts to save money and delivering services.

“Yes, there will be a squeeze, but we want to emphasise that the first port of call shouldn’t necessarily be things like recruitment freezes and things like that,” Mr Hadley warned.

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He added this would be one of the main concerns over the year ahead.

Recent research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development revealed 1.31 million people were made redundant during the recession – double the net fall in employment and equivalent to 4.4 per cent of people in work before the downturn.