Good news for permanent staff employment?

Eight in ten employers (79 per cent) believe that economic conditions are improving, according to the latest JobsOutlook survey by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).

Overall, 81 per cent of businesses plan to hire more permanent staff in the next three months. However, the data also indicates that hiring intentions are weakening within smaller businesses. In February 62 per cent of microbusinesses (1-10 employees) said they plan to hire in the next three months, down from 74 per cent in January.

The regular survey of 600 employers also found that:

• 78 per cent plan to take on more permanent staff in the medium term (3-12 months).
• 95 per cent are operating with either no spare capacity or only ‘a little’ capacity to take on more work with their existing workforce.
• 17 per cent expect a shortage of candidates for permanent technical/engineering roles over the next 12 months, while 15 per cent anticipate a shortage for permanent professional or managerial positions.
• Almost half (49 per cent) have awarded pay rises to staff in the last 12 months.

Credit: rec.uk.com