A new report suggests that there was a 5.2% increase in hiring levels across the UK in the fourth quarter of 2012 when compared to quarter four 2011.
Opportunities within commerce and industry have fallen by 34% in London but nationwide vacancies within the private sector have jumped by 32%.
Outside of the capital many employment markets are booming. In the Midlands, the number of temporary vacancies has increased by 33% across all sectors since quarter four 2011 and throughout the North East temporary employment levels have doubled.
This is according to the UK’s only company dedicated to the provision of temporary and contract staff to organisations in both the private and public sectors, Venn Group. The company has just released the fourth edition of a quarterly report – The Venn Index – offering an overview of the vacancy levels, average salaries and in demand skills in the UK.
Commerce and Industry
Vacancies within commerce and industry across the UK rose by 32.8% between the latter months of 2011 and quarter four 2012 which is a positive sign of nation-wide economic recovery. However, within London, employment levels in this sector have fallen 34% between quarter four 2011 and quarter four 2012. This can be attributed, at least in part, to a boom in activity in 2011 as companies ramped up temporary recruitment initiatives in preparation for the Olympics.
Financial Services
As predicted in the last edition of the Venn index, the number of positions within financial services is still in decline. Vacancies dropped 26.5% between quarter three 2012 and quarter four 2012 and levels now sit 34.3% below those seen in late 2011.
Public Sector
Once again, the temporary and interim market within the public sector is enjoying high levels of activity nationwide – in fact public sector vacancies are up by 32.9% across the UK when compared with quarter four 2011.
Commenting on the results of this report, Robert Bowyer, Director of Venn Group says: “As predicted in the last edition of the Venn Index, the economy is showing positive signs of recovery and temporary employment levels in the UK remain strong. Between quarter three 2012 and quarter four 2012 vacancies across the UK dropped by 9.8% and this blip is reflected in recent figures released by the Office of National Statistics which show that GDP shrunk by 0.3% last quarter. However between quarter four 2011 and quarter four 2012, employment levels have slowly risen which indicates a long-term sustainable growth. Research from the Institute of Directors suggests that there is a growing sense of economic optimism for the year ahead amongst employers and long-term confidence has also increased. Official figures also continue to point towards an acceleration of job creation. There is no doubt that 2012 was an unusual year – yet despite the Olympics and additional bank holidays the signs are positive that the temporary labour market is well on the road to recovery.
Credit: onrec.com
