REC: Jobs Outlook - December. Hiring outlook for public sector increases
Tuesday, 13 December 2022
Hiring outlook for public sector increases
Confidence
In September-November 2022, business confidence in the UK economy fell by a further 1% from the previous rolling quarter to net: -70, a new record low. At net: -71 in November, the barometer has been in negative territory for 13 months.
Employers’ confidence in making hiring and investment decisions fell by 2% compared to the previous rolling quarter to net: -29. Similarly, the barometer has been in negative territory for 8 months.
Permanent recruitment
Do you think the number of permanent workers in your organisation will increase or decrease in the next three months?
In September-November 2022, employers’ intentions to hire permanent staff in the short-term dropped by 1% to net: +17. Regionally, sentiment was the highest in the North of England (net: +21), followed by the Midlands (net: +20) and the devolved nations (net: +20). When it comes to business size, large-sized (250+ employee) organisations’ sentiment rose by 2% to net: +18, while mid-sized (50-249 employee) organisations’ sentiment increased by 1% to net: +28. Forecast demand in the public sector increased to net: +15 from net: +12, and demand stayed strong for private businesses at net: +17.
Temporary recruitment
Do you think the number of agency workers in your organisation will increase or decrease in the next three months?
In the three months to November, employers’ intentions to hire temporary agency workers in the short-term declined by 4% to net: +3. Whilst hiring intentions were notably higher in the Midlands at net: +16, London (net: -26) recorded a 33% decrease in sentiment. Forecast demand for large-sized (250+ employee) enterprises remained buoyant in positive territory at net: +11, but mid-sized (50-249 employee) enterprises’ demand dropped to net: -6 from net: +14. Outlook for public sector employers rose by 1% to net: +8, while private sector employers’ sentiment dropped by 4% to net: +3.
Topical question
More than four in ten employers believe that changing the immigration system (42.5%), encouraging firms to recruit from a more diverse talent pool (42.5%), and reforming the Apprenticeship Levy (41.6%) are most needed to keep the labour market strong in 2023.
For other government actions, roughly three in ten employers expressed that reforming or repealing EU legislation (30.5%) and involving recruitment professionals in workforce and skills planning (28.8%) are most needed to keep the labour market strong in 2023.
JobsOutlook Topical Questions
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Please find a collection of the latest topical questions from our JobsOutlook survey. The questions are a key source of insight and cover a range of current and past issues of interest for the REC and its members. If you are an REC member, you get an access to not only our monthly surveys, exclusive reports and analysis but also our Topical Questions archive for the last 5 years.
