South West jobs maintain steady course

The jobs market in the South West has fallen this quarter but remains firmly in positive territory at +6%, according to Manpower, the world’s workforce experts.

This Outlook is in line with the UK national average and puts the South West on a steady course after a couple of quarters of ups and downs in hiring intentions.

The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is based on responses from 2,100 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.

“Job prospects in the South West are now in line with the UK national average after moving from negative into strongly positive territory in the last two quarters,” says Krissie Davies, Operations Director at Manpower UK.

“We are seeing particular demand for candidates with experience in construction and senior sales roles. In these positions, as with many others, those candidates with strong CVs and the requisite skills hold the balance of power in terms of being able to choose the roles and organisations that they really want.

"These candidates are able to negotiate hard on salary and employers who want to attract the best candidates are increasingly having to assess the salaries and benefits packages they are offering to make sure they are competitive. Bristol is one market where salary benchmarking is a high priority and we are working with a number of clients to ensure they are geared up to get the best candidates in a rising jobs market.

“Our clients are also interested in making sure that they are top priority for the most skilled and experienced candidates in what is a very competitive market. Strong candidates often having a number of opportunities to choose from, and are able to compare salary, benefits and work-life balance before they decide which role to take.

“At a national level, there has been a surprise jump in public sector jobs optimism in the run-up to the general election with an Outlook of +12%, which is double the national average of +6%. We have also seen this trend in Exeter, where the number of part time public sector roles has increased in Q2 2015, while in Plymouth too, the NHS is also recruiting.”

Going into the second quarter of 2015, the national Seasonally Adjusted Net Employment Outlook remains at +6% for the third successive quarter, indicating that the UK jobs market continues to plot a steadily optimistic course. Interestingly, there has been a surprise jump in public sector hiring intentions in the run-up to the general election as the jobs Outlook has climbed 10 points on last quarter to +12%, its most optimistic level for four years.

Even though, with austerity cuts across government departments, people might think that public sector hiring would be in the doldrums, what we are actually seeing is the reverse. In contrast, private companies, although hardly stalling with an Outlook of +7%, may be sitting on their hands and taking a ‘wait and see’ approach to the outcome in May.

With the exception of Scotland, all of the UK regions are optimistic going into the second quarter. The East and West Midlands record the strongest hiring intentions this quarter, at +11% and +12% respectively together with the North West at +11%. These regions are big hubs for the Utilities sector, in which the Outlook for jobs has risen to +18%, its highest level for eight years.