REC - Jobs Outlook - March 2022: UK businesses remain positive about their hiring intentions amidst growing economic concerns
Tuesday, 29 March 2022
UK businesses remain positive about their hiring intentions amidst growing economic concerns
“Employer confidence levels rose slightly as 2022 began, but rising inflation looks to have put a dampener on that over the last couple of months, as firms see bills rise.
This does not seem to have fed through to hiring yet – the majority of employers are still looking to bring in new permanent or temporary staff in the coming months. Temps are in particularly high demand at the moment, as this flexibility should help businesses and workers manage more difficult months ahead.
We’re urging the Chancellor to take bold action in his spring Budget by postponing the rise in National Insurance and supporting companies to invest in skills. This will help both to ease the immediate crisis and to level up the economy in the longer term.”
Neil Carberry
Confidence
In the three months to February, business confidence in the UK economy fell by two percentage points to net: -7. In February alone, the sentiment turned negative again amidst wider economic uncertainty.
Employer confidence in making hiring and investment decisions fell by four percentage points. At net: +13 it remained in the positive territory in this rolling quarter.
Permanent recruitment
Do you think the number of permanent workers in your organisation will increase or decrease in the next three months?
In December 2021-February 2022, employers’ intentions to hire permanent staff in the short-term rose by one percentage point to net: +25. Regionally, hiring intentions were the highest in the South (excluding London) (net: +31), followed closely by the Midlands (net: +29). In contrast, the sentiment was significantly lower in the devolved nations (net: +14). Additionally, large (250+ employee) organisations were notably more optimistic about increasing headcount than the UK’s smallest (0-49 employee) enterprises, at net: +33 and net: +17, respectively.
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 February, employers’ intentions to hire temporary agency workers in the short-term increased by two percentage points to net: +30. Regionally, there were stark differences in hiring intentions between the Midlands (net: +56) and the devolved nations (net: +11). Forecast demand remained high across different company sizes but was notably lower in the public sector (net: -11).
Topical question
Almost half of employers (47%) reported that the lack of foreign nationals in the UK labour market had no impact on their business. However, 19% said that they have increased starting salaries as a consequence.
In addition, one in six (16%) employers increased the hours of their existing workforce to combat the lack of foreign nationals in the UK, while 13% have seen a decline in productivity and/or profits.
