Jobs unleashed in the East

The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is based on responses from 2,102 UK employers. It asks whether employers intend to hire additional workers or reduce the size of their workforce in the coming quarter. It is the most comprehensive, forward-looking employment survey of its kind and is used as a key economic statistic by both the Bank of England and the UK government.

“After a year of above average hiring intentions in the East, it’s great news for the region that this trend is set to continue into the New Year. What’s more, we’re seeing strong demand for candidates across all levels and sectors, from sales and customer services, to manufacturing, IT and insurance,” says Krissie Davies, Operations Director at Manpower UK.

“The solid hiring patterns that we’ve seen across the region in recent years mean that there are increasing skills shortages. This is driving up pay in some areas. For example, we’ve seen a manufacturer in Cambridge which was paying specialists £20,000 per annum now looking for contractors to fill these roles at pay rates of up to £23 per hour. That’s a significant increase and shows the lengths local employers are going to, to attract the talent they need.”

The national seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook has jumped two percentage points to +7% as companies ramp up hiring plans going into the New Year. The upbeat national picture is being fuelled by Britain’s booming business and finance services sector, at +10%, and particularly high tech areas such as cyber security. Recent high profile data breaches such as those at TalkTalk and Sony, have created a surge in demand for cyber security experts. ManpowerGroup has seen a record number of requests received for specialists with IT security expertise in 2015, four times the demand that it saw last year.

Despite the positive national picture in Q1 2016, employers face significant uncertainties later in the year ahead. Mark Cahill, ManpowerGroup UK Managing Director comments: “The introduction of the National Living Wage in April 2016 is set to send shockwaves through the UK jobs market, especially in generally lower paid sectors such as retail, hospitality and social care. Many employers are still working out how much the national living wage will cost them – and how they are going to pay for it – and the picture that will emerge over the coming months may not be all rosy. This is combined with looming uncertainty over the timing and outcome of Britain’s EU referendum. The General Election had the effect of pausing the uptick in employment in April and early May and ManpowerGroup expects Brexit uncertainty to have an even more dramatic impact.”

Promoters of the Northern Powerhouse will be cheered as the boost given to the project in the recent Autumn Statement is marked by a surge in optimism in both the North East and North West, at +9% and +11% respectively. In the rest of the country, the South East (+12%), London (+9%), the South West (+9%), Wales (+9%) and the East Midlands (+8%) all stand above the national average. The Outlook in the West Midlands (+6%), Scotland (+5%) and Yorkshire and the Humber (+4%) are in positive territory, while Northern Ireland is the only region to record a negative Outlook for the first quarter of 2016, at -2%.

 Regional fact sheet - East of England


NOTES

A ‘Net Employment Outlook’ is calculated by subtracting those employers who plan to reduce staffing levels from those who plan to hire staff.  A positive result indicates that more employers plan to increase rather than decrease staffing levels; a negative result reflects the opposite. [% increase - % decrease]

Commentary and full details on every sector and region can be found in the survey report at manpowergroup.co.uk/meos, or by calling the Press Office on 0207 404 5959/ [email protected]

For international comparisons and visual library with graphs, visit manpowergroup.com

Commentary is based on seasonally adjusted data where available. Full survey results for each of the 42 countries and territories included in this quarter’s survey, plus regional and global comparisons, can be found in the ManpowerGroup Press Room at www.manpowergroup.com/meos.  In addition, all tables and graphs from the full report are available to be downloaded for use in publication or broadcast from the ManpowerGroup Web site at: http://www.manpowergroup.com/press/meos.cfm

Note that in Quarter 2 2008, the Survey adopted the TRAMO-SEATS model for seasonal adjustment of data.  As a result, you may notice some seasonally adjusted data points change slightly from previous reports. This model is recommended by the Eurostat department of the European Union and the European Central Bank, and is widely used internationally.

About the Survey

The world leader in innovative workforce solutions, ManpowerGroup releases the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey quarterly to measure employers’ intentions to increase or decrease the number of employees in their workforce during the next quarter. It is the longest running, most extensive, forward-looking employment survey in the world, polling nearly 59,000 employers in 42 countries and territories. The survey serves as a bellwether of labour market trends and activities and is regularly used to inform the Bank of England’s Inflation Reports, as well as a regular data source for the European Commission, informing its EU Employment Situation and Social Outlook report the Monthly Monitor. ManpowerGroup’s independent survey data is also sourced by financial analysts and economists around the world to help determine where labour markets are headed.

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For further information, please contact:
Brunswick – Rebecca Lum       020 7404 5959
Email:   [email protected]
Twitter: #MEOSUK