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Recent articles
Demand for HR professionals during the recovery
With the recent increased recruitment activity in the UK, resourcing and HR professionals will be in much greater demand as we ease out of the economic recession. A survey from IT and business services firm Logica stated that 35% of HR departments claim they do not have the necessary HR personnel in place to deal with the foreseen upturn in recruitment activity.
There is a shortage of HR resourcing expertise as a result of the downturn as a number of senior HR personnel have been culled. In terms of strategic HR and forward planning there could also be a huge gap of knowledge because there has not been much recruitment over the last 2 years across all sectors. This has left some firms exposed as the grey clouds of recession recede and firms look to recruit to manage the increased economic activity.
Firms which have also relied in the past on the recruitment industry to solve their resourcing needs have recently managed this in-house and have seen the huge savings by maintaining an in-house recruitment department rather than paying hefty recruitment fees. Having benefitted from these easily scalable savings firms and HR professionals will want to maintain their in house resourcing function, which in-turn will increase demand for able HR resourcing, hiring and training personnel.
The labour market statistics published on 16 September were more positive than many expected, as well as showing continued falls in employment and rises in unemployment and inactivity. The most optimistic signs were improvements in vacancies on both measures, a fall in the number of new JSA (Job Seekers Allowance) claims and continued improvements in the staying on JSA rates for all groups.
Vacancies in the survey of the economy have now improved for three months. The number of vacancies in the survey is quite volatile yet reports a three-month average, which has now reached 434,000 and the rise in the one-month figures is now apparent in this headline three-month average.
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Unemployment highest since mid '90s?
Despite the UK government last week declaring that the recession was over, this week, Gordon Brown, UK Prime Minster, declared to the Labour party faithful at the TUC conference, that central and local government would have to make deep cuts, including mass redundancies, in an effort to maintain the UK's precarious fiscal state.
Brendan Barber, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, disagreed stating that with “now over 1m people out of work for more than six months, one in three of them under 25. There are no signs of recovery here. This is not the time to take risks with policies that could make unemployment worse.” Economists believe that after years of UK government inefficiency and overspending Mr Brown cannot afford to take heed of TUC advice. The public spending cuts and thus redundancies will add significantly to the jobless statistics in the next 6-9 months, in a desperate attempt to shore up UK finances.
Despite government's protestations that the recession is over, the number of jobless in the UK rose by 210,000 to 2.47m in the second quarter to July, the highest level since 1995. This takes the unemployment rate to 7.9 per cent of the workforce, in line with economists’ forecasts and re-iterates this week’s statement from the Bank of England that the economic recovery would be long and protracted.
There are some signs that the rate of unemployment is easing and the rate of redundancies reduced from 246,000, in the three months to July, lower than the 302,000 in the three months to April. The unemployment rate contrasts with the most recent figures of just under 10% in the US and a 9% average across the European Union.
Permanent vacancies decreased by just 12,000 to 434,000 in the second quarter, having been fairly stable over the quarter, underlining economists’ hopes that unemployment may not reach as high as in either the US or Europe although still believe unemployment will reach 3 million (10% of the UK workforce). The Midlands continues to suffer the worst with an unemployment rate of over 10.5% and still higher than other long suffering regions including Scotland, Wales, Northern counties and the South West.
A deeply worrying statistic is that just under 20% of school/college leavers and graduates increasingly have difficulty finding employment, rising by 36,000 to 731,000 in the second quarter and the highest figure since 1993. A total of 947,000 16 to 24 year olds are now unemployed, a figure which is predicted to rise to over 1 million next year.
Numbers claiming jobseekers’ allowance continued to increase at a more modest rate than overall unemployment. The claimant count rose by 24,400 to 1.61m in August, the highest since 1997 but well below the peak of 136,600 seen in February. Investigations are under way into the difference between overall unemployment and the number of unemployed claiming the doll. Some reasons include redundant workers being ineligible, taking up temporary employment as well as some people who lose their jobs not signing on in the hope of finding new employment quickly.
Another interesting statistic published this week particularly for those who are still employed is that average earnings, increased by just 2.2% in the second quarter to July compared with the previous year, despite the current interest and inflation rate.
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Retirement age to increase - Another U turn
UK regulations regarding increasing the compulsory retirement age at 65 could shortly change in line with European regulations and marks a direct U turn by this government's Equality Bill in 2006. The House of Commons committee, which met this week, has published a report on the bill which said regulation 30 - which upholds employers' right to compulsorily retire workers when they turn 65 - was not in keeping with the government's aims to raise the retirement age.
However this regulation contradicts the government's Equality Bill upholding the default retirement age of 65 in 2006. This stated that the national default retirement age was set through the introduction of the Employment Equality Regulation on 1 October 2006. The current regulation means that employers can terminate their workers' contracts once they reach 65 years, and employees wishing to work beyond this age must request to do so in writing.
Yet 3 years later the work and pensions committee has said that this new decision was in line with government's "wider social policy and labour market objectives to raise the average retirement age and allow people to continue to work and save for their retirement". The report said: "In light of the judgment by the European Court of Justice, we recommend that the government removes regulation 30, which permits employers to continue to compulsorily retire employees at the age of 65.
The pressure on the government has come from a number of different areas including professional UK Human Resources organisations as well as pressure being brought to bear from Brussels. However many feel that the sudden change of mind by this UK government is fuelled by the inability of the government, and many other large organisations, to tackle pension fund deficits, especially after the recent dramatic shortfalls caused by turbulent markets over the recent year.
The UK government has said it will review the default retirement age in 2011, after the next election and which could be a change of policy a little late for many organisations that face appalling pension fund deficits, which have brought many large organisations including the Royal Mail to their knees.
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Government's expenses binge whilst weilding the axe
As reported in the press, whilst UK government ministers, have been living it up on expenses, they have been planning to weild the axe on public sector workers. Reports published this week by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, state that their research shows that for the first time the recession is beginning to hit public sector employment. The private job sector has been suffering since the beginning of 2008, during which time the public sector employment sector has remained, if not bouyant, certainly unscathed. This report now suggests that all job sectors will now shrink over the next three months before it is widely suggested that the job market will start to tentatively improve in the autumn.
Further to a survey of 500 employers the report states that private employers are most pessimistic about the labour market, a feeling now being mirrored by the public sector, which are also making redundancies, especially in local government. This does not bode well for the 57,000 made redundant last month, pushing the number of unemployed to 2.2 million, figures not seen since 1996.
The report also highlighted that there will be further pressure on salaries as more than 25% of organisations would not carry out pay reviews this year whilst over 35% of private companies are planning wage freezes. Other research published this week suggests that half the population are suffering economically, experiencing difficulty making ends meet and did not even earn enough to comfortably cover their household outgoings.
As if this were not enough this week it has been reported that our political representatives, and in particular UK government ministers, largely responsible for depth of the UK recession, have been caught with their hands in the till.
On a positive note however the figures for temporary workers is increasing as employers start tentatively to employ, on a needs must basis, which bodes well as this historically is the first indicator of a positive labour market.
And our elected (or not) leaders might also be forced to repay the expenses they unjustly claimed.
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Darling's budget predictions for jobseekers
UK chancellor Alistair Darling introduced his “Budget for jobs” on 22nd April, which was not quite as embarrassing as it could have been.
The number of unemployed workers in March increased by 74,000 which was reported just before Mr Darling made his address and was below expectations, compared to an increase in February of 137,000 unemployed. However despite recent talk of green shoots of recovery around the corner, this does not mark the start of a turnround for the UK economy and so the future for employment. Economic surveys, confidence and employer hiring remains near historic lows, which is mirrored in Mr Darling’s forecast of a horrifying 3.5 per cent economic contraction this year.
Many thousands of graduates and college leavers are about to join the employment market putting greater pressure on those unskilled unemployed workers looking for jobs. The government claims that the fiscal stimulus to date will safeguard 500,000 jobs yet total unemployment at 2.1m is already the highest since Labour came to power and is forecast to reach 3m this year. It could challenge the 1984 post-war high of 3.3m.
The majority of UK unemployment forecasts rates currently 6.7 per cent, remaining below all Group of Seven economies (other than Japan) for 2009 and 2010 and below developed economy and eurozone averages. These will be testing times indeed for jobseekers and we predict that some hiring might be further restricted by employed workers not wishing to move on, from 'frying pan to fire' and hence be more susceptable to redundancy with a new employer.
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What future for our Graduates?
This June degrees will be handed out, hats will be tossed in the air and university graduates will look to enter the working world. It's all very exciting and nerve wracking, in a positive way.
Student loan repayments are six months away and, as anyone who has turned on the news in the last year will tell you, the economy is pretty bleak.
But never fear, graduates, the hiring market maybe slower than it was when you began your degree but there are still jobs to be had. To help your search and calm your nerves, here is a list of 10 jobs that graduates should look for.
Keep in mind that not every employer in these sectors will be hiring at the same level and that many factors can come into play during the recruitment process. However, these are 10 jobs that new graduates have a good chance of finding in 2009.
Accountant and auditor
Percentage increase: 16
Best for: Accounting graduates
Database administrators
Percentage increase: 28
Best for: Computer science, information science or management information systems graduates
Electrical engineering
Percentage increase: 8
Best for: Engineering graduates
Financial analysts
Percentage increase: 32
Best for: Finance, economics, business administration, accounting or statistics graduates
Management analysts
Percentage increase: 5
Best for: Business administration graduates
Marketing managers
Percentage increase: 15
Best for: Business administration graduates
Mechanical engineers
Percentage increase: 4
Best for: Engineering graduates
Network systems and data communications analysts
Percentage increase: 52
Best for: Computer science, information science or management information systems graduates
Personal financial advisers
Percentage increase: 38
Best for: Accounting, business, finance, economics, mathematics or law graduates
Sales managers
Percentage increase: 10
Best for: Business administration graduates
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Latest UK Employment Statistics
Here is a broad overview of current employment and unemployment statistics and trends from the National Office of Statistics.
The number of job vacancies has fallen. The number of unemployed and unemployment rate and the claimant count has increased. Growth in average earnings, including and excluding bonuses, has fallen. The employment rate has fallen but the number of people in employment has increased slightly on the quarter. The number of inactive people of working age and the inactivity rate has fallen.
The unemployment rate was 6.5 per cent for the three months to January 2009. This is up 0.5 percentage points from the previous three months and up 1.3 percentage points on the year. The number of unemployed people was 2.03 million. This is up 165,000 from the previous three months and up 421,000 over the year.
The number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance benefit in February 2009 was 1.39 million. It is up 138,400 from the revised figure for January 2009 and up 595,600 on the year. This is the largest monthly increase in the claimant count since comparable records began in 1971.
In the three months to January 2009, 266,000 people became redundant in the three months prior to the Labour Force Survey interviews. This is up 86,000 on the previous three months and up 154,000 on the year. This is the highest figure since comparable records began in 1995.
The working age employment rate for the three months to January 2009 was 74.1 per cent, down 0.1-percentage point from the previous three months and down 0.7 percentage points on the year. The total employment level rose by 2,000 over the previous three months but fell by 75,000 over the year to reach 29.38 million. The number of hours worked per week fell by 2.3 million on the quarter to reach 935.7 million.
The number of people employed in the public sector was 5.78 million in December 2008, up 15,000 on the quarter and up 30,000 on the year. The number of people employed in the private sector was 23.60 million, down 13,000 on the quarter and down 105,000 on the year.
Grim reading indeed and with many new redundancy announcements by major employers being posted in the press the statistics could look even bleaker. On a more positive note however there are still organisations, which are still hiring and benefiting from our economic downturn. For example the hotel industry catering to Europeans who are benefiting from an exceptionally weak Euro / Sterling exchanging rate, or organisations involved with the Olympic Games 2012.
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Vacancy decline slowing down - Light at the end of the tunnel?
The rate of decline in the UK labour market is slowing, as both temporary and permanent vacancies fell at the slowest speed for months.
The number of permanent vacancies declined at the slowest rate for six months at 38.4 index points [with 50 equaling no change], compared to 27.9 in February and 36.7 in January, according to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG's Report on Jobs.
Temporary and contract staff jobs also fell at the lowest rate in some time, with March's 40.6 reading pointing towards the bottom of the demand curve, after registering 33.4 in February and 24.8 in January.
Change in the numbers of vacancies has varied widely from sector to sector which have fallen for the last 10 months, but March had a rating of 30 points, the smallest decline in four months and up from February's record low of 27.6.
There is of course a strong demand in the interim, change management and internal communications sectors, which are holding up very well as there are a lot of companies modifying their internal procedures.
The most beleaguered sector in terms of temporary staff was engineering and construction, which hit 29.3 index points.
Hospitality and catering recruitment particularly permanent vacancies are being filled rapidly because the numbers of job seekers has increased although the demand has also increased due to the weak pound. Demand for permanent staff in the hotel and catering sector registered at 28.3 index points, compared to 56.7 at the same time last year.
The nursing, medical and care sector continued to record a growth in demand for temporary staff, at 52.4 points.
Other sectors to be similarly affected are accounting and financial at 30.7, which was the fastest growing sector this time last year, and IT & computing at 31.9.
Falling demand for temporary and permanent staff has caused salary pressure, driving down temporary rates, benefits packages and of course bonus levels for permanent vacancies. According to the study, recruiters indicated that the high number of candidates had meant that employers were filling positions on lower starting salaries, with permanent pay declining for the sixth consecutive month.
Although salaries are on a slight slide but employers realise that they must continue to offer reasonable remuneration levels to attract talent to join the workforce, especially in these difficult times. Candidates who are keen to move to a new position are a little more flexible on salaries. Also people are not moving around as much as they would have done previously, so the candidate pool has not increase significantly in certain sectors.
The Office of National Statistics revealed the decline in salaries. Average weekly earnings (including bonuses) in January fell by 2.2% compared to last year, at £446.50.
Mike Stevens, partner and head of business services at KPMG, warned that regardless of the deterioration of the jobs market slowing, "these latest figures leave no doubt that the UK jobs market is at its worst in the 11-year history of the survey and recovery might take longer and be more protracted than many hope".
Having said all this however although the number of vacancies has not increased there will always be a demand for able workers across all sectors as people will inevitably change job for any number of reasons if only through relocation, maternity or retirement. By applying directly to employers and through job search sites like www.careerint.com employers can avoid paying expensive recruitment fees whilst attracting able and informed jobseekers.
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Article database
Too busy for holidays. Is this you?
One in four people will cancel a holiday this year because of "severe" pressures at work, according to a new report.
A survey of 500 UK adults showed that many had already called off a break at the last minute because of work commitments.
One in seven Britons they took work with them on holiday, constantly checking emails and voice messages to stay in touch with the office, the study by internet firm Expedia found. Financial worries will force one in 20 people to "sell" a holiday to a colleague or back to their employer, while Britons are more likely than anyone else in Europe to find themselves with days owing at the end of the year. Alison Couper, communications director of Expedia.co.uk, said: "Getting your work-life balance just right is sometimes difficult due to work pressures. But it is very important to ensure that you give yourself enough time to recharge your batteries and switch off from the working environment."
Many of those questioned said they were too busy to get away. Others complained that their boss was not supportive of people who used up all their holiday entitlement.
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Long term unemployment - Child poverty
Conservative leader David Cameron has staked his claim to natural Labour territory as he launched an attack on Gordon Brown's record on child poverty. Mr Cameron said the root causes of poverty such as long-term unemployment and family breakdown should be tackled as part of an effective strategy to reduce the problem.
"Last year, 100,000 more children went into poverty, if you look at most severe poverty there are 600,000 more people in it than there were 10 years ago," he told GMTV. "I think worst of all, if you actually look at people on the lowest incomes, the poorest 10% in our country, they are actually getting poorer at the moment. "We are saying stop just looking at the money, start looking at the causes of poverty and that is things like family breakdown, drug abuse, persistently being out of work." Mr Cameron's remarks come as he was due to give a speech accusing the Prime Minister of making child poverty worse. He will urge Mr Brown to publish the latest figures before Thursday's local elections.
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Careerint.com goes Greener
We are also proud to be the first job portal relying solely on renewable energy. Our servers now utilise wind, water and solar power in accordance with the Renewable Energy Certification System (RECS). Our servers consume between 50 and 60 GWh per year. Hence, by switching to environmentally friendly energy we can significantly contribute to environmental protection.
"We not only desire clean energy, but we also want to use as little energy as possible. So we have been using highly efficient power supplies with less than 20 per cent heat loss and omit any unnecessary components within our servers. As soon as the outside temperature falls below 10 degrees, we cool our data centre using open-air coolers and that works without energy-eating compressors”.
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