Contractor demand remains high as employer confidence continues to grow

Latest findings show that with employer confidence continuing to grow, the UK’s hiring spree is set to continue into 2022.

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation’s recent JobsOutlook survey found that in the three months to August, business confidence in hiring and investment decisions remained high.

Over the next three months, demand for temp/contract staff is high at net: +17. Looking at the next 4-12 months, this is net: +10.

Neil Carberry, Chief Executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), commented, “Businesses’ confidence levels remain robust and that has led to sky-high demand for workers. Demand is still growing for both temporary and permanent staff, but permanent hiring now leads the way after starting its recovery much later than for temps. This pattern follows the model of previous recoveries.

“This survey suggests that firms remained confident in late August that capacity constraints would not slow the recovery down. Given the events of the past week, we will be watching next month’s numbers to see whether that starts to change. It was good to see the government listening to business and introducing some measures to help ease HGV driver shortages over the weekend – though driving is not the only sector being severely affected by labour shortages. We’d like to see a collaborative approach going forward, with government departments and industry experts coming together in a joint forum to try and resolve this crisis.”

To find out more about contracting please contact Amelia on 01206 591 000 or email amelia.bowlez@contractorumbrella.com.