| CATEGORY: NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS |
Bosses stop hiring |
|
Mon 10 Nov 2008
|
LONDON (SHARECAST) - The financial crisis has forced many employers to stop hiring a new report has found.
A survey of 700 employers found the balance between those expecting to take on staff in the next three months versus those looking to axe jobs slumped from 41 a year ago to just 2 this time.
The figure was the lowest recorded by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), which started the study in 2004.
CIPD chief economist John Philpott warned “the harsh chill of recession” and modest pay increases at best will make this winter the toughest for UK households for almost two decades.
"The year after the impact of the credit crunch was first felt saw the UK labour market move from a state of buoyancy to one of stagnation,” he said.
"We are now at the start of a period of contraction, with jobs being lost, new jobs hard to come by and, as this week's official statistics are set to confirm, unemployment on an ever sharper upward rise.”
There was also bad news from the CBI, whose own survey showed almost 30% of small to medium sized companies had cut their workforce in the last three months. Only 17% added jobs as demand for UK-made goods weakened at home and abroad.
"After more than a year of steady growth on the jobs front, we are now starting to see SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) reducing their headcount in response to weakening demand in the face of global economic slowdown," said Russell Griggs, chairman of the CBI's SME Council.
Meanwhile, the CIPD report also showed more than four out of five employers reckon economic conditions will get worse, with only 1% predicting an improvement.
Last month’s figures from the Office for National Statistics had unemployment rising at its fastest since the middle of 1991, with the number of Britons out of work up 164,000 to 1.79m in the three months to August.
Almost 940,000 were claiming Jobseekers Allowance in September, 31,800 more than the month before and 104,900 more than a year ago. The claimant count has now risen eighth months in a row.
|
|
| |
|
 |
Archived Stories |
 |
|
Front Page Stories |
|
|
