REC Jobs Survey reveals 44% of Perm Employers Plan to Increase Headcount

Roger Tweedy, the Research Director at the Recruitment & Employment Confederation, said that “This is the first real confirmation that employers are feeling more confident and are taking a long-term strategic view of their workforce planning. Creating more permanent jobs and the lifting of headcount freezes are solid indicators of this returning confidence.  This is encouraging news at what remains a difficult and volatile time for the UK jobs market. The survey also confirms the emergence of a two-tier jobs market, with 60% of public-sector employers predicting a significant impact on their workforces as cuts begin to bite.  The unexpected surge in business confidence gives hope that private-sector employers can absorb further public-sector job losses.”

Last month the Bank of Scotland revealed that the Scottish labour market is going from strength to strength with increases in both temporary and permanent recruitment activity in April 2011. The Bank of Scotland Labour Market Barometer posted a reading of 56.6 in April, up from 53.8 in March.

The Chief Economist at the Bank of Scotland, Donald MacRae, said that “The latest Report on Jobs shows a further improvement in the Scottish labour market. The number of people placed in to permanent positions increased for the seventh consecutive month, while demand for permanent staff rose markedly in April, with recruitment consultants registering a larger number of vacancies. All eight employment sectors registered greater demand for permanent staff in April. The number of temporary staff vacancies also rose in April, at the fastest rate in four months. Again, all eight employment sectors saw greater demand, with Hotel & Catering recording the strongest growth.”

Compared to 2010 the year so far has been extremely positive for highly skilled contractors with many large companies keen to roll out new projects, especially in the financial services industry.

Commonwealth Contractors

At Commonwealth Contractors we partner with OISC Registered Private Immigration Firms and Tier 2 Licensed Healthcare and IT Consultancies who may be prepared, where required, to sponsor an individual on a Tier 2 Visa (formerly UK Work Permit). If you are a highly skilled International professional and you would like to work in the UK Commonwealth Contractors can help. Our OISC Registered Partners specialise in Tier 1 General (formerly Highly Skilled Migrant Programme) visa applications and can assist those highly skilled individuals that either wish to apply or extend a Tier 1 General Visa.

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