The first few weeks of 2014 have seen a significant boost in both employers’ confidence and their willingness to make more permanent job offers, the latest JobsOutlook survey from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) has found.

The REC ‘Jobs Barometer’, which is calculated from employers’ responses to questions about their hiring intentions and economic outlook has reached a peak of 38. This is 11 points higher than at the same time last year, and the highest score since the survey began in March 2009.

Asked about their plans for permanent headcounts in both the short and medium term:

• 69{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e} employers say they will make more offers of permanent work in the next 3 months, up 4 points from January’s survey.
• 72{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e} say they will directly employ more staff over the next 4-12 months, up 13 points since January.

When planning about future use of agency workers:

• 47{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e} employers predict they will increase their use of temps over the next 3 months
• 46{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e} say they will engage more agency workers over the next 4-12 months.

The REC’s director of policy Tom Hadley says:

“This month’s survey shows a significant jump in the number of employers who are planning to create more permanent jobs in both the short and medium term. This is a reflection of employers’ growing confidence in the wider economic recovery as well as their belief in their own businesses.”
Credit: rec.uk.com