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management & education news

MORE THAN HALF OF UK EMPLOYERS PLANNING

TO RECRUIT STAFF, SURVEY REVEALS

months to January was 26 per cent
lower than the previous year. However,
this is an improvement when compared
to summer 2020, when vacancies had
dropped by nearly 60 per cent.
The Labour Market Outlook showed
signs redundancies were stalling too, with
the number of employers saying they were
planning redundancies dropping from 34
per cent in the last quarter to 20 per cent.
Commenting on the ONS figures,
THE LABOUR MARKET CONTINUES TO Gerwyn Davies, Senior Labour Market
WITHSTAND THE EFFECTS OF THE PANDEMIC Analyst at the CIPD, said they were “very
good figures for an economy passing
MORE THAN HALF of UK employers 5.1 per cent in the three months to through a fragile and uncertain period”.
planned to recruit new staff in the first December last year – the highest for But even though the economy had
three months of 2021, a survey has nearly five months. shown “tentative signs” that the level of
found, which experts have hailed as The ONS figures also revealed there redundancies had fallen from its peak,
“the first signs of positive employment were currently 726,000 fewer people in Davies said it was still concerning that
prospects in a year”. payrolled employment than before the the economy “continued to shed jobs at
Of the 2,000 employers polled for start of the pandemic, of which nearly the turn of the year at a very high rate”.
CIPD’s latest Labour Market Outlook, 56 three-fifths were under the age of 25. “Taken in the round, the latest jobs
per cent indicated plans to recruit in the However, January did see 83,000 figures indicate that the labour market
first three months of this year, up from more people in payrolled employment continues to withstand the pandemic
53 per cent in the previous quarter and than the previous months, the second headwinds better than anybody could
49 per cent six months ago, according to consecutive month of growth, which the have expected. However, it remains in a
People Management. ONS described as “tentative early signs” far from healthy state, which underlines
The news comes as the latest figures of the labour market stabilising. further the need for the Chancellor to
from the Office for National Statistics The ONS data also showed the extend the furlough scheme into the
(ONS) show unemployment reached number of job vacancies in the three summer,” he added.

PAY RISES FALL TO LOWEST LEVEL SINCE THE of the lockdown,” he said, adding
that compared to the high levels
END OF FIRST LOCKDOWN, RESEARCH REVEALS of unemployment linked to the
coronavirus restrictions, Brexit was
a “relatively minor factor” for the
THE MEDIAN BASIC pay rise in the receiving a higher amount. majority of employers.
private sector was just one per cent in January generally accounts for just
the three months to January, half of under a quarter of pay settlements
what it was in the three months to the recorded by XpertHR each year, but
end of 2020, new research has revealed. it said activity was slow this year as
Analysis from XpertHR also showed employers remain concerned about the
the median basic pay rise was the pandemic and uncertainty over Brexit.
lowest since the three months to However, David Spencer, Professor
the end of August 2020, when it was of Economics and Political Economy
at zero – meaning a pay freeze. By at Leeds University Business School,
contrast, pay freezes accounted for blamed labour market conditions and
a third of the pay settlements in the not Brexit for the slump in pay rises.
three months to January. “A big factor holding back pay rises is
The research, based on a sample of the higher level of unemployment and,
100 pay awards, found that four out of more generally, job insecurity,” he said.
five who received pay rises in the three “Workers have little bargaining
months to January were getting lower power to push for higher wages,
than they received in the previous while firms are unable or reluctant
year. The same pay award was given to raise wages due to weak sales WORKERS HAVE LITTLE BARGAINING
to 18.1 per cent, with just 2.4 per cent and uncertainty about the length POWER TO PUSH FOR HIGHER WAGES

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