Commenting on the latest employment figures released today by the Office for National Statistics the Recruitment and Employment Confederation’s (REC) Director of Policy and Professional Services Tom Hadley says:

“The strength of the UK labour market continues to defy the doom-mongers. Employer confidence remains strong and the outlook for 2013 is generally very positive, although there are still legitimate reasons to worry about persistent levels of youth unemployment.

“The private sector continues to more than compensate for public sector job losses and in some high demand areas starting salaries are inflating as businesses find themselves in a race for talent.

“When skills shortages emerge employers need to be flexible. Business demand for candidates in highly skilled areas like engineering, IT and management is outstripping the UK’s current supply of qualified and experienced candidates. Bosses need to think about whether they could do just as well by taking on someone who shows potential if they can’t find candidates with the years of experience they initially feel are necessary for a role. That change in attitude would also be good news for graduates and younger jobseekers.”
Credit: rec.uk.com