Barclay Meade report says there is a growing sense of confidence and optimism among UK employers

The ‘Tracking UK Recruitment’ report found that:

• The proportion of medium and large employers recruiting at a similar level to the pre-recession period increased for the third consecutive quarter, reaching 50% in Q1 of this year compared to just 39% in Q3 last year
• The proportion of firms with recruitment freezes fell from 24% in the final quarter of last year to just 13% in the first quarter of 2011.
• 22% of employers believe that the rising price of fuel is likely to have the biggest negative impact on their recruitment strategies over the coming twelve months
• The proportion of employers concerned about skills shortages has fallen slightly, from 27% to 20%

The Managing Director of Barclay Meade, Nigel Lynn, said that “With the latest ‘Tracking UK Recruitment’ report revealing improvements in the jobs market for the third consecutive quarter, it appears the restructuring of companies is reflecting a growing sense of confidence and optimism among employers. As we move further through this post-recession climate, there has been a shift towards more firms implementing and fulfilling growth strategies rather than focusing on stability and survival.  This has changed the mindset of employers who realise that, in order to achieve their ambitions, they will need to re-align the structure of their organisation by upskilling their workforce and recruiting leaders who are able to deliver results.”

“All in all, we are seeing confidence return to many markets, and as a result hiring strategies are changing.  The permanent jobs market is very strong at the moment and there is hope that this will continue throughout 2011, helping the private sector to offset the job losses that will be ongoing in the public sector.”

The report comes at the same time as many industry bodies are reporting increased recruitment activity in the private sector however a great deal of decline in the public sector. The REC has labelled the current situation a ‘two speed labour market’.

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