Recruitment Matters - October 2018

THE VIEW AND THE INTELLIGENC E

Our Future of Jobs follow up P2 BIG TALKING PO INT

Salaries and benefits P4-5 LEGAL UPDATE

RECRUITMENT MATTERS

How important are references? P6 Issue 66 October 2018

PRO DUC TS AND TR AINING

What’s coming up? P8

E U RO P E

Falling employer confidence highlights need for smart immigration policy D

ipping employer confidence has bolstered calls for a smart new immigration system. Employers’ confidence in the prospects for the UK economy turned negative in August, according to the Recruitment & Employment Confederation’s JobsOutlook report. The balance of those seeing a positive outlook as opposed to a negative one was a net -1, a fall of 7 points since July. Despite the deterioration in confidence in the economic outlook, employers’ confidence in making hiring and investment decisions in their own businesses remained in positive territory with a net balance of +15, only falling by 1 point since July. This may have been driven by ongoing concern about candidate availability with employment rates high. Half (50%) of UK employers expressed concern this quarter over the sufficient availability of candidates for permanent jobs – anticipation of shortages was most

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heightened in relation to construction skills. “A shortage of available candidates in many areas of the economy means employers are having to work harder to bring in key staff – with many sectors, such as drivers and food supply, fearing they may be hit hard by future changes to the UK’s mobility deal with the EU,” says REC chief executive Neil Carberry. The report was buttressed by August’s ONS migration statistics, that found fewer EU migrants were coming to the UK. CIPD’s senior labour market analyst Gerwyn Davies says the numbers boost calls for a new approach to immigration policy. “At a time of record low unemployment and mounting recruitment and retention pressures, it is sensible that controls on migration from outside the EU are loosened to take the heat out of the tightening labour market,” he says.

The report backs up the REC’s call for an immigration system not based on “arbitrary quotas” but the contribution individuals make to the UK economy.

www.rec.uk.com 11/09/2018 15:28