24 August 2006 - One in four businesses looking to hire - Jobcentre Plus employer survey reveals buoyancy in recruitment market
A new report from Jobcentre Plus shows that over a quarter of British businesses were on the look out to hire new faces last year. 2005 saw 27% of businesses, 586,000 establishments, actively recruiting new staff which is up from 559,000 in 2004. Small businesses were particularly active with over half (56%) recruiting or trying to recruit externally in the last 12 months; up 4% on the previous year.
In addition to more employers looking to hire, more vacancies are also being successfully filled across the country – 88% in 2005 compared to 86% in 2004. Despite a marginal drop in the overall number of vacancies available across the country, in some regions the volume of available jobs has grown considerably - the total number of vacancies is up 25% in Scotland and 20% in the South West.
Minister for Employment, Jim Murphy, said:
"The results of this survey reveal the current strength of the UK labour market. The number of companies looking to recruit new staff is on the increase at a time when employment is at record levels. We have set ourselves an ambitious target of reaching an 80% employment rate and recognise that we need to do more to help match those who are now looking for work with the over 600 thousand vacancies in the UK economy.
" That is why our Welfare Reform Bill, and the roll-out of Pathways to Work for people on incapacity benefits, is so important. They will enable us to give many more people the individual help they need to move off benefits and into work. Jobcentre Plus plays a vital role in doing this, with some 10,000 new vacancies being advertised in their offices every working day."
Further findings show that Jobcentre Plus continues to attract a large share of the vacancies market. Of the 3.8 million vacancies advertised externally over the last 12 months, well over a third (39%) were advertised with Jobcentre Plus, more than any other recruitment method including newspapers (35%), internet recruitment (14%) and recruitment agencies (13%).
Although smaller employers were the most active recruiters, larger and medium-sized organisations advertised the most number of vacancies. Of all the vacancies advertised externally last year, 28% were in organisations between 10 – 50 staff and 29% were in organisations with 50 – 250 staff. Smaller organisations with less than 10 employees accounted for 18% of vacancies.
Lesley Strathie, Chief Executive, Jobcentre Plus said:
“The survey reveals a positive picture for the UK recruitment market. The number of employers looking to take on new staff has risen across the board and use of Jobcentre Plus services is at an all time high. The UK also continues to have an enviable rate of employment boosted by the ever-increasing number of vacancies successfully filled each year. Jobcentre Plus plays a critical role in helping expose employers to a large, diverse labour pool and ensuring candidates are given the right advice and support to rejoin the job market.”
Jobcentre Plus serves 44% of recruiting employers and has maintained this level for the last 3 years in a very tight labour market. Usage is highest in the security sector (67%) and in 2005 it was also significantly higher in call centres (63%). Half of employers in the healthcare, construction and hospitality sectors have also used Jobcentre Plus in the last 12 months. Over three quarters (78%) of establishments that had used Jobcentre Plus in the last year were satisfied with the services provided and two-thirds (66%) intend to use Jobcentre Plus again in the next 12 months.
Notes to editor
- The research is based on findings from a quantitative survey of a representative random sample of 4542 GB employers carried out between November 2005 and January 2006 by IFF Research Limited on behalf of Jobcentre Plus.
- Proportion of establishments that recruited or tried to recruit externally
in 2005 by sector and region e.g. 36% of establishments in London recruited
or tried to recruit in 2005; 49% of retail establishments recruited or tried
to recruit in 2005 [N.B Not all sectors shown]
Region % of establishments London 36% South East 38% North West 41% West Midlands 40% Eastern 38% South West 42% Yorkshire/Humberside 41% Scotland 45% East Midlands 43% Wales 41% North East 43% Sector % of establishments Retail 49% Hospitality 48% Public Sector 61% Healthcare 52% Manufacturing 45% Construction 31% Transport 33% - Percentage of establishments that recruited or tried to recruit externally
in 2005 and number of vacancies advertised by sector:
Sector % of establishments % of vacancies Retail 14% 16% Hospitality 11% 14% Public Sector 8% 11% Healthcare 8% 12% Manufacturing 8% 10% Construction 5% 3% Call centres 5% 4% Transport 2% 3% - Percentage of establishments that recruited or tried to recruit externally
in 2005 and number of vacancies advertised by region:
Region % of establishments % of vacancies London 15% 13% South East 15% 14% North West 11% 11% West Midlands 9% 8% Eastern 9% 10% South West 10% 10% Yorkshire/Humberside 8% 8% Scotland 9% 11% East Midlands 8% 6% Wales 4% 4% North East 3% 3% - Jobcentre Plus, part of the Department for Work and Pensions, brings together
employment and benefit services for people of working age and is a key element
in the Government's objectives to help people based on ‘Work for those
who can, support for those who cannot’. It provides a professional and
modern service to meet the diverse needs of employers and those seeking work,
including:
- Personal advisers to provide practical support and advice to help those in need find and keep work, including training provision and benefits guidance
- A dedicated service to support employers in filling their vacancies quickly and successfully
- Ability to place and search for jobs both online and over the phone (via Jobpoints and through Jobseeker Direct and Employer Direct)
- Swift, secure and professional access to benefits for those entitled to them.
- Customers can access Jobcentre Plus services through around 1,000 locations across the UK, including around 800 newly refurbished Jobcentre Plus offices. Touch-screen terminals and Customer Access Phones are also available in a further 120 sites such as libraries and local authority premises. Jobcentre Plus works with over 275,000 employers to place 17,000 people into work every week. Over 400,000 vacancies are listed each week on its website and more than 4m job search requests are received, making it the number one UK recruitment website.
- For further information on the services that Jobcentre Plus provides employers and people of working age visit www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk.
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