Jobs growth and the race for talent to continue despite fears of triple dip recession

Fears of a triple dip recession have failed to make a dent in employer confidence on hiring decisions in 2013, according to the latest survey of 600 employers from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation. The REC’s JobsOutlook report indicates that the UK jobs market is likely to continue to grow over the next year, bringing positive news for people looking for temporary or permanent work. In fact, the report found that more than half of employers are planning to hire additional permanent workers in the next three months.

REC director of policy Tom Hadley said: “The latest JobsOutlook shows that employers are feeling a great deal more confident than they were a year ago. Our data indicates that the resilience of the UK jobs market is set to continue and there is good news for people seeking temporary work with the vast majority of employers planning to increase or maintain their use of agency staff.”

“This month’s survey also highlights the growing demand for certain skills and the race for talent in certain areas like technical, engineering and the professional and managerial sectors.”
February’s JobsOutlook survey of employers reports that:

• 57 per cent planned to increase their permanent workforce in the next three months and a further 39 per cent planned to maintain their numbers of permanent staff.
• 56 per cent planned to increase their permanent workforce in the next 4-12 months and a further 43 per cent planned to maintain their permanent headcount over that period.
• 36 per cent plan to increase their use of agency workers in the next three months and further 53 per cent intend to maintain current numbers
• 35 per cent say they will increase use of agency workers in the next 4-12 month period (which is up 3 per cent on last month) with an additional 57 per cent saying they will maintain their current level of use of agency workers through to the start of 2014.

JobsOutlook reports the responses of 600 employers questioned about their hiring intentions over the next quarter and the next year. Respondents are drawn from across the public, private and non-profit sector, and from across a range of industries and sizes of organisation.

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