Eight out of ten employers are planning to hire more people in the next three months, according to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC)’s JobsOutlook survey of employers.

The monthly tracking survey reveals that the proportion of employers saying they need new staff to meet increased demand has risen from a quarter at the turn of the year to over a third.

In addition to the positive hiring intentions, employers also voiced their concerns over skills shortages in the jobs market with one in five (20{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e}) predicting a problem finding people to fill  technical and engineering roles in the next three months, and one in four (25{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e}) predicting significant shortages in the next 12 months.

REC CEO Kevin Green said: “The economic recovery is having a real impact on the jobs market as these are the best results we have seen since this survey began in 2009. The labour market is becoming more candidate led and it is vital that businesses look at their hiring processes to ensure that they are fit for purpose and will attract the candidates they are looking to hire.

“However, skills and talent shortages could jeopardise the recovery. Employers, recruiters and the government need to do more as this issue is intensifying every month and spreading to new sectors.”

We asked employers about their plans for permanent headcounts in both the short and medium term:
• Eight out of ten employers (80{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e}) plan to increase permanent hiring in the next three months, up four points on last month.
• Just under eight out of ten employers (79{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e}) plan to increase their permanent hiring in the next 4-12 months, down two points on last month.

When asked about their plans for future use of agency workers:
• Half of all employers (50{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e}) plan to increase use of agency worker in the next three months, up two points on last month.
• More than four out of ten (43{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e}) plan to increase their use of agency workers in the next 4-12 months, down five points on last month.
Credit: rec.uk.com