Partner Article

North East employer confidence still negative

Employers in the North East are still facing a crisis of confidence, according to new figures.

Employer hiring confidence in the region remains in negative territory for the third quarter of 2009, according to figures released in the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.

The results reveal a cautious labour market in the North East, with a Net Employment Outlook of -2% reported. This represents no change in Outlook quarter-over-quarter, but an eight per cent decline since a year ago.

In the North East, five per cent of employers plan to increase headcount, compared to six per cent who intend to reduce staff numbers. However, 88% of employers anticipate no change in headcount over the coming quarter.

Amanda White, Manpower’s Operations Manager for the North East, said: “Current trading conditions have impacted on a number of sectors across the North East, and resulted in staff cutbacks. However, as a business we are seeing increased demand for Public and Social sector workers, particularly in areas such as the NHS and local government. Additionally there are a growing number of roles for experienced gas and oil engineers and administrative staff.”

Jason Greaves, Head of Commercial Staffing at Manpower, said: “Right now, job seekers need to remain flexible and open-minded to new roles that will give them the best possible chance of gaining employment, and these may be temporary roles in the current climate.

“It’s an employer’s market at the moment with a greater number of candidates to choose from in the recruitment pool, so it is important for job seekers to continue investing in retraining or up-skilling to maintain a competitive edge.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .