Friday, 29 July 2022
Employer confidence drops quickly – but labour shortages mean businesses still need to hire
Confidence
In April-June 2022, business confidence in the UK economy fell by a further 12% from the previous rolling quarter to net: -50. In June alone, sentiment plummeted to net -61, signalling wider economic concern.
Employers’ confidence in making hiring and investment decisions also fell by 6% to net: -13, further falling into negative territory.
Permanent recruitment
Do you think the number of permanent workers in your organisation will increase or decrease in the next three months?
In April-June 2022, employers’ intentions to hire permanent staff in the short-term fell by 2% but remained buoyant at net: +23. Hiring intentions remained stable across the UK. Regionally, sentiment was the highest in the Midlands (net: +28), followed closely by the North of England (net: +25). When it comes to business size and structure, mid-sized (50-249 employee) organisations and private businesses were most optimistic about permanent hiring, at net: +26 and net: +24, respectively.
Temporary recruitment
Do you think the number of agency workers in your organisation will increase or decrease in the next three months?
In the three months to June, employers’ intentions to hire temporary agency workers in the short-term rose by 2% to net: +12. Most regions in the UK recorded increasing in sentiment. Notably, the Midlands rose from net: +16 to net: +20 and the North went from net: 0 to net: +5. Forecast demand also rose among small-sized (0-49 employee) enterprises from net: +8 to net: +20. However, demand lowered in the public sector to negative territory (net: -5).
Topical question
A significant proportion of employers have not implemented each of these ED&I policies as part of their hiring process, 18% have not introduced any of them at all.
Half (50%) of UK employers are using job advertising language specifically designed to encourage applications from diverse candidates. For more than three in ten (32%), this language extends to specifically stating that applications from diverse candidates are encouraged.
Despite the high levels of active encouragement at the job advertising stage, less than one in five (17%) organisations are circulating name-blind CVs. Moreover, only a quarter (27%) are operating diverse interview panels.
Encouragingly, 18% of employers are planning on introducing at least one of these processes in future.
