Since the UK voted to leave the European Union, business confidence has taken a nosedive. However, it hasn’t dampened spirits on the subject of recruitment. According to a new report, companies need to hire more permanent and temporary staff in order to meet demand.
The findings of the Recruitment & Employment Confederation’s (REC) latest JobsOutlook survey seem to defy widespread expectations following Brexit. The report suggests that it is in fact business growth that is driving forward recruitment.
Another factor cited in the report is that many businesses are currently working at full capacity. Between May and July, 34% could only take on additional work if they recruited extra staff, while 43% had minimal capacity.
Over the next quarter, 22% of the businesses questioned are planning to hire permanent staff, and 9% are looking to increase temporary staffing numbers. The majority of this recruitment is likely to take place within micro and small businesses.
Speaking about the report, chief executive of REC Kevin Green was optimistic about the UK jobs market. He stated: “Thanks to a resilient, business-as-usual attitude from consumers since the referendum, demand on businesses has remained buoyant.”
He also highlighted the risk of reducing the number of skilled workers coming into the UK. “Skills shortages are a major problem in many sectors – one that will only get worse if the supply of skilled EU workers is in any way curtailed.”
It is hard to gauge the real impact of the EU referendum on the short- and long-term recruitment markets. However, ‘gig economy’ recruitment is up 14% since May.
The next step is for the prime minister to be clear about government plans for Brexit negotiations, specifically in relation to the single market and ‘passporting rights’.
