Despite low confidence levels in the UK economy, employers are still looking to hire, new data reveals on Wednesday.
The Recruitment & Employment Confederation’s (REC) JobsOutlook report shows that employers’ confidence in the British economy remains low as the Halloween Brexit date approaches and uncertainty looms.
Despite the low confidence levels, the data shows that businesses are still seeking to hire, with the demand for permanent staff increasing in both the short-term and medium-term.
Additionally, the data shows that 46% of employers of permanent staff expressed concern about finding the correct candidates to hire, especially for those seeking candidates with Health & Social Care skills.
Moreover, 45% of public sector businesses said that they have no spare workforce capacity at all.
“Our flexible labour market continues to be one of the strongest elements of the UK economy,” Tom Hadley, Director of Policy and Campaigns at the REC, commented on the data.
“This most recent survey shows employers are still looking to take on both permanent and temporary workers as they seek to maintain stability amidst the Brexit uncertainty. More employers also seem to be trying to transfer their best temps into permanent roles as candidate shortages continue to bite across many sectors,” Tom Hadley continued.
“These skills shortages are especially acute in sectors like health and social care. With over 100,000 vacancies in the NHS and staff already working at full capacity, the government’s recent announcement on ending freedom of movement has come at the worst possible time.”
“EU workers are an integral part of our health and social care system and the UK workforce as a whole. It is essential that the government has in place a sensible transition towards an evidence-based immigration policy to help reassure employers and EU citizens.”
The REC’s JobsOutlook for June revealed an improvement in employers’ confidence in the UK economy and in their own hiring and investing since the Brexit extension.
