The majority of employers (56 percent) continue to report that they will hire more permanent employees in the next quarter, according to the Recruitment & Employment Confederation’s (REC) latest JobsOutlook survey. The survey also reveals an increase in the percentage of bosses who foresee headcounts will “stay the same”, especially in relation to agency staff.

REC director of policy Tom Hadley says: “Businesses are more optimistic about the future than they were 12 months ago and the fact that more than half intend to make additional permanent hires over the next few months reflects that. Employers use agency staff to meet fluctuations in demand and run their businesses efficiently and our latest data shows businesses have no intentions of reducing their use of agency staff for the foreseeable future. This is encouraging news about the health of the temporary labour market in the UK as we approach the second anniversary of the introduction of the Agency Worker Regulations. It’s reassuring to see that the legislation didn’t have the negative impact on the temporary labour market that many expected.”

July’s JobsOutlook survey of employers reports that:

• More than half (56 percent) plan to increase their permanent workforce over the next three months with 39 percent predicting no change and only five percent expecting to reduce headcounts.
• Almost half (49 percent) plan to increase their permanent headcount over the next four to12 months with another 49 percent predicting no change and only two percent predicting a reduction.
• Over a third (37 percent) plan to increase the use of agency workers in the next three months with over half (55 percent) suggesting staffing levels will remain unchanged and just eight percent expect to reduce their use of temps.
• One in three (34 percent) plan to increase the use of agency workers in the next four to 12 months with the majority (60 percent) predicting no change in their use of temps and only six percent reporting they plan to make a reduction.

JobsOutlook reports the responses of 600 employers questioned about their hiring intentions over the next quarter and the next year. Respondents are drawn from across the public, private and non-profit sector, and from across a range of industries and sizes of organisation.
Credit: rec.uk.com