Ahead of the Queen’s Speech next week, the Forum of Private Business has urged the Government to ensure the Groceries Code Adjudicator has the necessary power to fine supermarkets who unfairly abuse their suppliers, and to ensure new laws on parental leave don’t unfairly harm small business, particularly with...

The number of new job opportunities available in April showed steady year-on-year growth, in spite of a contracting economy during the first quarter of 2012. The Reed Job Index of new vacancies showed a seven per cent rise compared to April 2011, although the Easter holidays prompted a six...

The latest issue of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation’s JobsOutlook, the monthly survey of employers’ hiring intentions, shows employer confidence grew throughout the first quarter of 2012 to reach its highest level since the survey began in March 2009. Employers intend to hire more staff in both the short...

A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction. The economy shrank by 0.3{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e} in the fourth quarter of 2011.  The UK economy has returned to recession, after shrinking by 0.2{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e} in the first three months of 2012. BBC economics editor Stephanie Flanders says it “adds to the...

Universities can expect a decline in applications following the fee increase, according to students. Many even claimed their current course is not worth the money. survey of more than 100 students and graduates by graduate recruitment website Milkround revealed more than 80 percent of its respondents believe raising university...

A poll conducted by Monster shows the like-minded nature of workers amid a challenging economic climate; over half of respondents (55{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e}) said they are considering switching their career in response to economic troubles, while nearly one third (30{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e}) would consider a move if they could find a better career. Conversely...

The deficit to GDP ratio for the bloc as a whole fell to 4.1{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e} from 6.2{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e} in 2010, Eurostat said. The overall debt to GDP ratio rose to 87.2{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e} from 85.3{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e}.  Eurozone governments have introduced far-reaching austerity measures designed to cut deficits.  The Republic of Ireland, Greece and Spain...

Recruitment figures for Europe for March showed continued year-on-year growth – albeit at a slightly slower pace than in February. The newest Monster Employment Index Europe found that recruitment rose by eight per cent across the continent, compared to the figures for March 2011. The previous index, carried out...

The US investor, known for nearly bringing the Bank of England to its knees in a wave of currency speculation in 1992, laid out an elaborate plan for saving the common currency, in an interview with the Welt am Sonntag newspaper. He was also quick to blame the German...

Unemployment fell by 35,000 to 2.65 million over the December-to-February period, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).   The claimant count rose by 3,600 in March to 1.61 million. The unemployment rate edged down from a 12-year high of 8.4{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e} to 8.3{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e}, the lowest level since the summer...

New figures released today by the Totaljobs Barometer, the first to provide a round-up of the labour market in the first quarter of 2012, reveal that competition for posts rose from 15 to 20 applications for each job compared to the same period last year. Although the jobs market...

Pathway to Pensions, a programme of guidance and support for REC members launches today. The programme aims to help recruitment agencies understand how they will need to implement the automatic pension enrolment rules and make contributions for workers who remain opted in to a pension scheme. From October 2012,...

acancies for highly skilled workers have rocketed by  double digits for the second consecutive month, up 17{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e} in February following a  similar rise in January, according to research by the Association of  Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo). Vacancies still 18{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e} down  year-on-year Up 17{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e} month-on-month The research shows that demand...

European markets moved higher on Wednesday, making a slight recovery from Tuesday’s steep losses.   German and French indexes were up almost 1.5{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e}, while in London the FTSE 100 was up 0.6{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e}. The Italian government raised 11bn euros ($14.4bn; £9.1bn) on the money markets on Wednesday morning. There was plenty...