It’s always great to see the British recruitment sector thriving, and the findings from a new Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) survey show that the next three months are going to be full of hiring opportunities.
According to the JobsOutlook survey, more than eight in ten (82%) British companies plan to hire more permanent staff between now and May, with nearly a third (29%) saying they had taken on more staff in the past 12 months.
This has driven UK employment up to 74.1%, the highest it has ever been on record. However, unfortunately it’s not all good news; employers are looking to hire but they’re having difficulty finding candidates to fill roles.
The large majority (95%) of UK businesses are operating nearly at full capacity, which, according to the REC’s chief executive Kevin Green, means that “options are running out for organisations that want to take on more staff.”
“SMEs and big businesses are both feeling the pressure,” he continued. “The need for people to do the jobs available is driving firms to become more innovative and creative in their recruitment strategies.”
This also means that employers are making extra efforts to retain their existing talent, with 47% of respondents saying they had awarded pay rises to their top talent in the last 12 months.
In addition to this, it’s having a knock-on effect on the freelance market, with increased opportunities for freelance and temporary workers. The survey found that 90% of employers needed temporary workers to provide “key skills,” while more than half (58%) needed these professionals to help them respond to business growth.
The UK employment market will be a particularly hot topic in the months to come with Britain’s EU referendum looming. Green agrees that “jobs will be high on the agenda,” and urges everyone to keep in mind that “we need more skilled people to fill job vacancies in the UK, not fewer.”
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