Employers more positive on immediate jobs outlook

The immediate jobs outlook has turned positive for the first time in more than a year, driven largely by a decrease in redundancy intentions. This is the main finding of the latest Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development's quarterly Labour Market Outlook survey of more than 1,000 employers, conducted by YouGov.

The report’s net employment balance, which measures the difference between the proportion of employers that intend to increase total staffing levels and those that intend to decrease total staffing levels in the first quarter of 2012, has risen to +6 from -8 since the Winter 2011/12 quarter.  This is the report’s first positive figure for more than a year.

However, the institute warns that optimism should be tempered by employers’ continued caution about the medium term, which taken together with recent weak economic data, suggests a high risk that many employers may find it necessary to reassess staffing levels before the year is out. The survey’s twelve-month balance, which gives a longer-term perspective on the net effect of recruitment and redundancy intentions, has risen to +3 from -6.