Totaljobs’ Hiring Trends Index second quarter report has laid out the recruitment landscape and trends of the UK market as well as a preview of what is to come in Q3. Overall, vacancies continue to remain at a record high with many businesses wanting to explore alternative routes to fill open positions.
Half of businesses plan to hire from overseas within the next year both from within the EU and outside of the EU however, a fifth of businesses say that are unable to do so because it is too difficult even though they may want to increase overseas hiring. The biggest challenge scuppering businesses hiring plans include visa availabity, the perception of the UK globally and international outreach.
On the other hand, UK employees are reportedly struggling to achieve a good quality of life in the UK and feel like they are more likely to find a better quality of life overseas. As a result of a rising cost of living, a whopping 4.5 million UK workers are considering moving abroad for work — 13% of the total workforce. Further to that, almost a quarter of UK workers would consider moving overseas if it were part of the job package. Young people (18 – 24-year-olds) were the most likely to consider moving abroad with Londoners wanting it the most out of any British region.
Regarding recruitment, 41% of businesses increased their hiring activity with an average time to hire of 6.76 weeks. This highlights the gap between businesses wanting to hire but being unable to find the right and/or willing talent. 46% of media, marketing and sales firms increased their hiring activity — the biggest of all sectors, followed by IT & telecoms (45%) and medical and health (43%)
Looking ahead, businesses remain optimistic and confident that they will be able to successfully recruit the people they need within the next quarter with 50% of businesses believing so. Almost a third of companies intend to increase their activities with a quarter increasing spending on recruitment for specialist roles.
Jon Wilson, CEO, Totaljobs commented, “Businesses continue to face a uniquely competitive recruitment landscape, with skills shortages and staff retention remaining top challenges. These trends look set to continue; particularly as younger people in particular are more likely to turn to opportunities overseas. Meanwhile, those who remain are expecting a greater degree of flexibility to work where they want. These challenges, compounded by the difficulties of hiring internationally, have the potential to exacerbate the critical drain on talent in the UK.”
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
