UK unemployment figures 'good news' REC

Thursday 18th February 2010

By Mike Jones

Unemployment fell 3000 to 2.46 million last month, according to the latest official ONS figures.

Responding to the statistics, Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) Chief Executive Kevin Green said: "This is good news and supports the feedback we''ve had from members who have reported an increase in recruitment activity over recent months.

"Improving employer confidence is resulting in a more positive outlook on hiring intentions over the coming year, but the UK jobs market remains fragile. There are real concerns that the squeeze on public expenditure will counteract some of these positive trends, particularly in regions that are heavily dependent on public sector jobs."

Commenting on the TUC argument that the UK jobs market looks "deceptively healthy" because of an increase in temporary and part-time work, Green said: "There is nothing 'deceptively healthy' about the fact that temporary work provides an important bridge back into employment and helps to develop the skills, experience and confidence to access permanent job opportunities.

"Flexible working options provide real benefits for job-seekers as well as for employers;  they must be recognised not stigmatised. With regards to part-time jobs, it is true that some employers have reduced hours rather than make redundancies. In these cases, employers will increase the hours of existing staff before they recruit new staff which is another reason that the road back to full employment will be long and tortuous."

Meanwhile Julian Acquari, Managing Director, Monster UK & Ireland, said of the UK job market figures: "Despite a seasonal fall during January, the long-term annual growth rate of the Monster Employment Index continues to improve.

"There was encouraging growth for business support functions such as administration, organisation and HR, which point to more confidence in taking on workers to plan for growth. Whilst business conditions are likely to remain challenging for some time, it is encouraging to see some stabilisation in long-term hiring trends."

Source: Recruitment Today 2010