Employers Could Turn to Temps to Plug Skills Gap – REC

Nine in ten UK employers (89 per cent) will increase or maintain their temporary workforce in the next three months, according to a survey by the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC). This is a rise of nine percentage points compared to findings reported in March (80 per cent), suggesting that businesses may become increasingly reliant on temporary workers.

The increasing demand for temporary workers appears to be in response to falling availability of candidates to fill permanent vacancies. Following the publication of official data showing that UK unemployment has fallen to 4.6 per cent (the lowest level since 1975) this month’s JobsOutlook survey of 606 employers reveals:   

• a third (33 per cent) report having no spare workforce capacity within their organisation 
  
• nearly half (46 per cent) anticipate a shortage of candidates to fill permanent roles in the next year, with construction, engineering & technical, and health & social care highlighted as particular areas of concern 
  
• of those that use temporary workers, 65 per cent do so to manage peaks in demand, 57 per cent need them to respond to growth, and 48 per cent say they want to gain access to key strategic skills. 

The increased use of temporary workers may have a financial burden for some businesses, with one in five (19 per cent) claiming that agency workers earn more than permanent staff in equivalent roles.

REC chief executive Kevin Green says: 

 

“This looks like a tipping point for the jobs market. Faced with chronic skills shortages, some employers are giving up on trying to fill permanent vacancies, and instead looking for temp resource to ensure they have the manpower needed to meet demand. 

“For jobseekers this means there are opportunities out there to boost earnings, because employers are prepared to pay a premium for people to fill vacancies on an interim basis. We could see this become a more attractive option for people in the context of rising inflation and poor pay growth. 

“For employers there is a growing sense of urgency about the skills shortage because it threatens to throw the UK jobs market off track. Whichever party forms a government after 8 June, we need to see action to improve the employability and skills of our young people, and to improve inclusion with underrepresented groups. We also need an immigration system which reflects the reality that more not fewer people from abroad are needed to boost the capacity of the UK workforce.”  

Ends

 

Notes to editors:  

 

1. For more information, contact the REC Press Office on 0207 009 2157/2192 or pressoffice@rec.uk.com. An ISDN line is available for interviews on 0207 021 0584. 

2. JobsOutlook is produced by the REC in partnership with ComRes. ComRes interviewed 606 employers and owners involved in hiring by telephone between February 8th 2017 and April 26th 2017. Data were weighted to be representative of UK adults in employment by region, broad industry sector and public / private sector split. ComRes is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules. Data tables are available at www.comresglobal.com 

3. In the next 3 months, do you think the number of temporary workers in your organisation will increase or decrease?

JobsOutlook report	Increase	Stay the same	Decrease	Don’t know
May	16.2%	73.2%	6.6%	4.0%
April	11.7%	72.8%	8.7%	6.9%
March	8.9%	70.8%	7.8%	12.5%

4. The unemployment rate (the proportion of those in work plus those unemployed, that were unemployed) was 4.6%, down from 5.1% for a year earlier and the lowest since 1975. https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/uklabourmarket/may2017

5. Latest estimates show that average weekly earnings for employees in Great Britain in real terms (that is, adjusted for price inflation) fell by 0.2% excluding bonuses, compared with a year earlier. https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/uklabourmarket/may2017

 6. Jobs transform lives, which is why we are building the best recruitment industry in the world. As the professional body for recruitment we’re determined to make businesses more successful by helping them secure the people they need. We are absolutely passionate and totally committed in this pursuit for recruiters, employers, and the people they hire. Find out more about the Recruitment & Employment Confederation at www.rec.uk.com