Employers plan to increase permanent staff

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation’s (REC) latest JobsOutlook survey has indicated that although businesses continue to face a challenging economic climate, the majority are still planning to increase or maintain their permanent staff over the next three months.

REC director of policy Tom Hadley said: “Our latest data shows the majority of employers are planning to increase or maintain their permanent headcount over the next quarter which suggests that the jobs market will continue to outperform the rest of the economy in the short term. Although the ONS reported a rise in unemployment last week, it is important to emphasise that the employment figures were also up.”

March’s JobsOutlook survey of employers reports that:

• 61% plan to increase their permanent headcount (up 4% on last month) and a further 55% maintain it in the next three months,
• 59% plan to increase their permanent headcount (up 3% on last month) and a further 39% maintain it over the next 4-12 months,
• 38% plan to increase their use of agency workers in the next three months (up 2% on last month) and further 50% intend to maintain current numbers, and
• 36% say they will increase use of agency workers in the next 4-12 month period (which is up 1% on last month) with an additional 55% saying they will maintain their current level of use of agency workers.