With fears of a recruitment freeze on the horizon, HR and recruitment specialist Gi Group UK has urged the new Prime Minister Andy Burnham to seize his ‘golden opportunity’ in the early days of his premiership, when the public will be expecting bold and decisive action such as his VAT cut for pubs and leisure venues. Gi Group want to see Mr Burnham take equally swift action to protect the jobs market.
While bigger businesses have become more adept at navigating economic uncertainty – triggered by changing policy, war and rising cost of living – Gi Group forewarns that in smaller businesses, employers are having to make increasingly difficult decisions and are being especially cautious about adding headcount.
Paulo Canoa, Chief Regional Officer for Gi Group UK and Ireland, said: “The market isn’t frozen, but what we are seeing is employers, especially SMEs, becoming a lot more selective in hiring decisions, increasing scrutiny and focusing on worries about workforce expansion. The labour market isn’t frozen; it’s waiting for confidence to return. Many are simply delaying recruitment quietly, leaving vacancies unfilled or replacing permanent hires with temporary workers. Across the UK and Ireland, we work with thousands of employers every week, giving us a real time view of how hiring decisions are changing before they appear in official statistics.
“As a result, this is the first time in three years we have seen a trend for increased demand in temporary workers,” he adds. “For our industry this is a double-edged sword – while we thrive from a buoyant temporary market, we also want to see business’s confidence in hiring across the board return to pre-pandemic levels. And we’re a long way from that at the moment.”
Paulo says in the first weeks of his premiership, Burnham should take a close look at the jobs market in the UK and listen to their analysis of the problems on the table right now. “It isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ landscape by any means, and we need to have confidence that the new PM is listening to the concerns of those leading the staffing and skilling sectors, across all and every profession and industry in the UK,” he says, “What works for manufacturing does not work for healthcare, and what works for the automotive sector doesn’t necessarily work for the logistics sector.”
The ONS painted a picture in its latest stats of a recruitment market that is weaker and less active than a year ago but still functioning at historically reasonable levels. Employers have become more cautious, and workers face greater competition for vacancies.
Paulo added: “We welcome the new Prime Minister into post, but what we would like to see from government is increased support for smaller businesses so that they can confidently call on the flexibility temporary work provides, like larger businesses do – flexibility is key to what will be a difficult period ahead for the labour market. The new government must take decisions to ensure SMEs level up at the same rate as bigger businesses and put some hope back into the hearts and minds of business owners.”
Job vacancies may be dropping overall across the UK but in sectors including logistics and manufacturing, Gi Group says demand for temporary workers is high amongst their large clients. With investment in its new business model – including utilising smarter proximity and new technologies – the move is paying off when it comes to businesses turning to them for support in these areas.
Gi Group offers employers tailored solutions for every stage of HR needs, and its ability to support clients with workforce planning, compliance and strategic information has proven key in gaining trust and business continuity during volatile times.
“We have decades of experience we can call on when it comes to supporting our customers to create workforces which are strong, intuitively formed and agile in the face of uncertain economic forces,” Paulo said.
“We’ve supported employers and candidates through some of the toughest times and we’re here to use our voice to elevate the real realities facing the jobs market. We hope the new PM can take his first weeks in power to support the most important cog in the UK’s hope for the future – a strong and stable labour market.”
