Election brings hope of an upturn in fortune for the job market

With election polls pointing towards a change of government this week, a survey of senior executives by management careers site TheLadders.co.uk has found that 64% are optimistic that a change of government will bring improvements to the job market.

500 senior management employees from the UKs leading companies were asked a series of questions on the job market and politics and the results found that the party that best represented the needs of the job seeker was the Conservatives (37%), followed by Labour (30%) and the Liberal Democrats (19%). Although the Liberal Democrats fared less well, their economic spokesperson Vince Cable certainly made an impression with business people – he was voted the politician most senior managers would like to hire for their business.

UK economy continues to recover from recession

The UK economy continued to recover from recession in the first three months of the year, according to official estimates.

GDP grew by 0.2% between January and March, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. That was weaker than the 0.4% growth predicted by many economists, but the figure may be revised. The last quarter of 2009 saw GDP growth of 0.4% - revised up from an initial estimate of 0.1%. The ONS said the bad weather seen at the beginning of the year may have had an impact on output - particularly in the retail and industrial sectors. But despite that, manufacturing output grew by 0.7% over the quarter, while the utilities sector saw output rise by 2.5%.

Coke criticised for 'condoning sick days' in an advert

A small business group has criticised Coca-Cola for adverts which appeared to condone being off work without reason.

Wording on a water brand owned by Coca-Cola says: "If you've had to use sick days because you've actually been sick, then you're seriously missing out."

The Glaceau Vitamin Water advert, which angered the Forum of Private Business, continued: "The trick is to stay perky and use sick days to just, not go in."

Coca-Cola said the advert was in no way meant as a serious recommendation.

The business organisation said it was "unacceptable to encourage workers to throw 'sickies' in order to sell a soft drink. A company of the standing of Coca-Cola should know better".

It claimed employee absence was costing the UK's economy almost £12bn-a-year in lost working days.

UK economy set to outpace most G7 peers, says OECD

The UK economy is forecast to outstrip its G7 peers in the second quarter of this year, says the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

The OECD predicted the UK would grow at an annualised rate of 3.1% in the second quarter of 2010.

Such a rate would put the UK ahead of the US, Japan, Germany, France and Italy - but not Canada.

The British Chambers of Commerce also said the UK had avoided a double-dip recession in the first quarter of 2010.

However, the BCC warned that the UK's recovery was weak and there remained a risks of setbacks in the future.

Permanent hires rise in March

The number of permanent hires rose again in March, growing at their fastest pace since October 1997, according to the latest Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG’s Report on Jobs.

The data shows thatshort-term staff appointments rose at their strongest rate for 34 months in March

Kevin Green, chief executive of the REC, says:“Permanent appointments increasing at the fastest pace for over 12 years is the clearest sign yet of a revival in the UK jobs market. A rise in both temporary and contract work at the sharpest rate for nearly three years shows how they continue to provide vital flexibility for UK businesses, as well as a valuable route back into work for jobseekers.”

Funds of £12m pledged to West Midlands manufacturing

Funds of £12m pledged to West Midlands manufacturing

Manufacturing in the West Midlands is to receive a £12m boost.

Advantage West Midlands and the European Regional Development Fund have pledged the funds, according to the Manufacturing Advisory Service.

There are plans to use the cash over two years to support 3,000 small and medium-sized firms employing up to 250 workers.

The service said the money "has to be focussed very carefully" but "can have some quite considerable effects".

The advisory service covers the West Midlands, Coventry and Warwickshire, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

Source of article

Budget or Fudget.....

At-a-glance: Budget 2010 key points

 

Chancellor Alistair Darling is delivering his third Budget and the last one before the general election. The key points will appear on this page as they are announced:

 

FUEL, CIGARETTES AND ALCOHOL AND FUEL DUTIES 

1. 3p fuel duty rise to be phased in between April and January 2011 
2. Duty on cider to rise by 10% above inflation from Sunday
3. Wine, beer and spirit duty up 2% a year until 2013
4. Tobacco duty up 1% this year and 2% a year in future years  

 

HOUSING

1. Stamp duty scrapped for homes below £250,000 for first-time buyers
2. Stamp duty on residential property sales over £1m to increase to 5%

 

UK ECONOMY

1. Economy contracted 6% during the recession  
2. Predicted growth of 1-1.25% in 2010, in line with forecasts
3. Downgrades growth forecast for 2011 to 3-3.5%

  

HELP FOR BUSINESS

1. £2.5bn support for small business to boost skills and innovation
2. One year business rate cut from October to help 500,000 companies
3. Investment allowance for small firms doubled to £100,000
4. Doubling relief on capital gains tax for entrepreneurs
5. No change to capital gains tax rates
6. £385m to maintain road network

 

BANK LENDING

1. One-off bank bonus tax has raised £2bn, double the amount forecast
2. Backs tax on bank transactions but on global basis
3. A million extra people guaranteed basic bank account
4. RBS and Lloyds Bank Group to provide £94bn in small business loans
5. New service to adjudicate credit disputes

 

JOBS AND TRAINING

1. Amount of time over-65s have to work to receive work credits reduced
2. Six month work or training guarantee for under 24s extended to 2012

 

BORROWING

1. Borrowed £167bn in 2009-10, £11bn lower than previously forecast
2. Borrowing to fall from £131bn in 2011-12 to £74bn in 2014-15

 

OTHER TAXES AND ALLOWANCES

1. No changes to VAT or income tax planned
2. Inheritance tax threshold frozen for four years

 

GOVERNMENT SAVINGS

1. On track to achieve £11bn efficiency savings target
2. Reform of housing benefit to save £250m
3. 15,000 civil servants to be relocated outside London

 

ENVIRONMENT

1. £2bn investment bank to back low-carbon industries

 

 

 

 

 

Earth Hour

Swindale Parks Recruitment have just signed up to WWF's Earth Hour.

Why not do the same? Switching off your lights to support WWF’s Earth Hour is a very visible demonstration of support and will create interest and publicity for this global event. You or your company can help by switching off all non-essential lighting for one hour on Saturday 27 March 2010 at 8.30pm to show we care about climate change.

Employment figures not lagging.......but not leading either

This is not the UK labour market of old: the headline unemployment numbers are moving with the economy, not lagging far behind as they have in the past.

But there's nothing in these figures to suggest the labour market is leading triumphantly ahead.

The employment picture for the next year looks even more fragile than the economic recovery.

The claimant count in February has seen the largest one month fall in more than a decade, and the surprisingly sharp rise in January has been revised down.

The broader measure of joblessness also fell by more than 30,000 in the three months to January.

So, the unemployment numbers appear to be flattening out much sooner than in past downturns. The number of vacancies is also rising surprisingly soon.

But there's still plenty to be concerned about: not least, the fact that employment also fell over those three months, by 54,000.

A very large rise in inactivity made up the difference: some 149,000 people have dropped out of the jobs market altogether. It's difficult to draw any firm conclusions about that rise: two-thirds of it - 98,000 - was made up of students reporting that they were no longer in the market for paid work.

There were also significant increases in the numbers taking early retirement - and choosing to stay home to look after family.

The bigger picture is that the jobs market is still a highly uncertain place. As I've said in past months (see Both accident and design and Which side are you on?) the smaller than expected rise in unemployment this time around owes much to private sector workers taking a hit on their earnings.

The Bank of England warned earlier this week that employers could find it hard to keep on workers in a weak recovery, if employees try to make up the ground they've lost.

Though it must be said that so far there's little sign of that happening, even with the recent sharp rise in headline inflation.

Source of article

Wage increases could push up unemployment, Bank of England warns

Lower wage increases meant unemployment during the recession peaked at a lower rate than previous economic downturns, according to the Bank of England’s latest report.

But the outlook for the jobs market is uncertain if workers demand inflation-matching wage increases during a weak economic recovery, the Bank’s first quarterly bulletin for 2010 has warned.

Employment fell by 1.9 per cent in the 2008-09 recession, compared to a 3.4 per drop in the early 1990s and a 2.4 per cent fall in the 1980s downturn. This was despite the economy contracting by 6.2 per cent in the latest recession, compared to a decline of 2.5 per cent in the 1990s and 4.7 per cent in the 1980s.

But in this recession real wages, taking into account inflation, grew by just 0.1 per cent – contrasting with the 7.3 per cent increase seen in the 1990s and a 2.7 per cent rise for the 1980s.

“A marked feature of the response of our economy to the current recession is that employment to date has not fallen by as much as we might have feared given the falls in output,” said Spencer Dale, the Bank of England’s chief economist and executive director.

“To date, businesses have responded to the fall in output by reducing total labour costs by a similar proportion to that in the early 1990s. But the way they have done so looks rather different, with many employees appearing better able to protect their jobs by accepting lower wage growth.”

Inflation remained low during the recent recession, with workers willing to accept pay freezes or reductions rather than broach an uncertain jobs market. But now inflation is rising and the country has officially emerged from the recession, the study cautioned against sudden wage hike demands.

“Employees may have become more confident about the employment outlook and may be unwilling to accept a further squeeze in real wage growth,” it said. “That could lead them to push for higher pay settlements this year. But if companies cannot afford the increase, then they may shed labour in order to contain labour costs.”

The CIPD’s chief economic adviser, John Philpott, agreed that the report offered a realistic assessment of the outlook for jobs.

“The study adds a dose of realism to the view that unemployment is already close to its post-recession peak. As the Bank warns, the risk of further substantial job losses remains, especially if the economic recovery is as weak as most current indicators suggest,” said Philpott

Source of article

Birmingham shortlisted for city of culture crown

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has revealed that Birmingham has successfully made the shortlist for the first UK City of Culture title in 2013.

The bid, developed by the Birmingham Cultural Partnership (BCP), is set within the theme of Big City Culture and reflects Birmingham’s status as a global city with a world class programme of cultural activities, with a rich and diverse local heart established within its communities.

Responding to the news, Cllr Martin Mullaney, Chairman of the BCP, said: “To have got so far against tough opposition from across the UK is a fantastic boost for Birmingham. But this is just the first stage and we’re not getting carried away.

“There’s a lot of hard work ahead and now we want people across the city to play a part as we put together the final bid that will mean Birmingham is named the UK’s first ever City of Culture.

“This is very much a Birmingham bid, not just a City Council bid, and we are keen to involve as many people across the city as possible. As we move into the final decisive stage of the selection process, we still want to hear your ideas on http://www.canvasbirmingham.com/ .”

Leader of the Council, Councillor Mike Whitby added: “To be named UK City of Culture would represent a massive economic boost, not only for Birmingham but for the region as a whole.

“This title is worth an estimated £200 million to the regional economy and would create thousands of jobs whilst offering us the chance to showcase Birmingham as a global cultural centre.

“Birmingham already has a strong cultural reputation and this title would further enhance that reputation while supporting our long term drive to increase cultural participation across the city.”

Stuart Griffiths, Chief Executive of the Birmingham Hippodrome, said: “This is fantastic news for culture in the city and I know that all our cultural organisations are supporting the bid and are right behind this whole process.

“Making the shortlist will give us great impetus to really pull out all the stops and win the title in the summer. Winning will be such a huge boost for us in terms of profiling are offer both inside and outside the city and have an immense impact on the opportunities for all arts and cultural organisations across Birmingham.”

The list of fourteen bidders has now been whittled down to just 4 by an independent panel, who assessed applications against a set of criteria such as the quality of the programme and its ability to reach a wide range of people; the use of culture to lead to lasting social regeneration; being able to demonstrable an economical impact and the creation of a legacy beyond 2013.
The other shortlisted cities are Sheffield, Norwich and Derry and the last stage of the bidding process now begins with final bids to be submitted to DCMS at the end of May. The winning city will be announced during the summer

Insolvencies at lowest rate since June 2007

The number of business failures is at its lowest rate since June 2007, according to information services firm Experian.

Figures show that UK businesses across the UK witnessed an 8% improvement in their combined financial strength score from 79.46 in January 2009 to 81.16 January 2010, while the rate of insolvencies fell to 0.07% in January 2010, with seven in every 10,000 businesses failing, compared to an insolvency rate of 0.09% in January 2009 and 0.11% in December 2009.

Rolf Hickmann, managing director of pH, an Experian company, says: “It’s encouraging to discover that not since the current financial crunch started have so few firms become insolvent in a single month. While it is too early to predict whether we are fully out of the woods, this does hint at an improvement in the health of UK businesses, something which is reinforced by the financial strength view provided by January’s data.”

Article source Recruiter.co.uk

BBC iPlayer gets design award nod

Singer Beth Ditto and the BBC's iPlayer have been nominated for the third annual Design Awards on 4 March.

The BBC's radio and TV catch-up service is in the running against Amazon's Kindle 2 wireless reader service in the interactive category.

In fashion, Ditto's clothing label at Evans is up against Alexander McQueen's 2010 spring and summer collection.

Seven winners will be announced at the Design Museum in London, with an overall winner announced on 16 March.

Artist Antony Gormley is chairing the jury which includes designer Tom Dixon and style editor of Grazia Paula Reed.

In the architecture award, the Hutong Bubble 32 in Beijing is shortlisted with the Brandhorst Museum in Munich and the British Embassy in Warsaw, Poland.

A folding plug, designed by Royal College of Art graduate Min-Kyu Choi, is nominated in the the product category.

Last year, Shepard Fairey's iconic Barack Obama poster was named overall winner.

Source of Article

UK unemployment falls for second month in a row

The number of people unemployed in the UK has fallen slightly, figures show.

Total unemployment stood at 2.46 million for the three months to December, down 3,000 on the figure for the previous three months.

But long-term unemployment, covering those out of work for more than a year, rose by 37,000 to 663,000, the highest figure since 1997.

And the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance climbed by 23,500 to 1.64 million in January.

'Tough times'

That was the largest increase since July last year - with analysts having expected the number of claimants to fall by about 10,000.

The rate of unemployment was unchanged at 7.8%, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

This is the second consecutive month that the wider measure of unemployment has fallen.

But the rise in the claimant count could point to further increases ahead, said John Philpott, chief economic adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

"That indicates that the labour market was quite weak at the turn of the year and it might presage further bad news for the reminder of the first half of the year," he said.

Rising levels of people who were underemployed - working part-time when they would prefer to work full-time - gave "a much richer account of the degree to which this recession has impacted on the workforce", Mr Philpott added.

"With a weak economic recovery set to result in further job losses in the coming months, it is highly likely that the unemployment situation will get worse before it starts to get significantly better."

While unemployment for the UK as a whole fell by 3,000, there were some big national and regional differences.

The South East experienced the biggest rise in unemployment during the quarter, up by 12,000, and the West Midlands recorded the biggest fall, down 16,000.

In Scotland, the number of people out of work increased by 10,000, while in Northern Ireland there was a drop of 8,000.

By Stephanie Flanders, BBC Economics Editor

Businesses are hiring again as job opportunities grow

Positive news at last from the recruitment industry. The recent survey of agencies by the Recruitment Employers Federation and KPMG suggests that companies are hiring again in good numbers. Demand for staff is at its highest since July 2007, apparently, but I'm not sure that all sectors of the economy are roaring back to health at the same time. Some canny business owners who prepared themselves during the recession may now be finding their feet, but as industry sectors felt the pain of the recession at different times so they will return to hiring mode again at their own pace.

I am seeing a pattern of increased job openings and activity in a number of businesses within my investment portfolio. From recruitment agencies to web design consultancies – they are showing signs of recovery and are enthusiastic about the year ahead.

Phil Roebuck, managing director of webrecruit, one of my portfolio companies tells me the number of vacancies they're working on each day has increased tenfold. Business confidence, whilst still shaky, is getting stronger and recruitment activities are reflecting this.

He tells me that demand for sales and marketing professionals is increasing, news I'm not too surprised about. These two skills sets are instrumental in a recovery plan. He's also seen a rapid increase in digital media jobs. The REC report suggests it's the IT/computing sector that's in most demand at the moment, and whilst closely related, the digital field is also one to watch.

The internet has been a terrific instrument of change. Virtually overnight it changed the dynamics of business. It's rapid, cheap and effective, so it's inevitable a new army of jobs would be created around this new domain.

This is particularly relevant to Fresh Egg, an internet marketing agency in which I've invested. Their success has been twofold: not only has the demand for search engine optimisation (SEO) increased, but also the size of their expert team. Great SEO consultants are in short supply.

It seems the penny's dropped: more and more companies have realised how important it is to have an online presence, and the marketing tools it provides to reach a wider audience.

But it's not just my web-based investments that are thriving. Tristan Ramus, one of my chief advisers, informs me that two of our key recruitment companies, the Resourcing Group and Eden Brown, are showing positive signs.

The Resourcing Group had its best year ever based on net profit as a result of adapting what they do to survive the volatile market. Eden Brown on the other hand, is showing early signs of growth and reflect the report's findings that the permanent jobs market is rebounding.

I believe many employers will remain cautious for some months, but it is reassuring to see recruitment activity increase. The casualties of the recession are starting to find their feet, with jobs from administration and HR, through to engineering and IT, all seeing modest rises. Let's hope we can maintain this

By James Caan

Over half of Brits say work stress ruins their relationship

Pressure in the workplace is having a strong impact on the nation’s love lives, a survey by Monster.co.uk has revealed.

37% of those questioned in the survey revealed that the stress brought on by their job spoils the time they spend with their partner.

Almost a quarter (23%) revealed that they feel expected to put their work life ahead of their home life. A defiant 9% of workers however ensure that the strain of their job does not affect their relationship as they insist on putting their love lives ahead of their careers.

Monster.co.uk recently asked 2,386 workers throughout the UK, “Does your job ruin your love life?” The main findings are as follows:

•37% Yes, being stressed because of work spoils the time I spend with my partner

•23% Yes, I am expected to prioritise my job over my home life

•31% No, my job and private life are completely separate

•9% No, I put my love life first

As the UK limps weakly out of the recession, it is unsurprising that so many Britons feel the need to put work ahead of their relationships. However, Monster recommends the following tips to help you ease your love/work life struggle:

•Make time for your partner – plan dates on special occasions such as Valentine’s Day to keep the romance in your relationship alive.

•Get organised – plan your work day in advance and set realistic timeframes on projects and clear limits on what you can achieve in the working day. This will help you to leave the office on time, meaning more quality time with your loved one.

•Recharge your batteries – If you regularly take time out to briefly relax, you'll cope much better when things are unavoidably busy or stressful at work.

•Say ‘no’ in the right way – If you are asked to do something you don’t have time for, explain why you need all the hours you’re currently working and make it clear that you would need to delegate some of your workload before taking on a new project.

 

Source of Article Onrec News

Back to Black........

The British economy has finally emerged from recession after 6 consecutive quarters of contraction

House prices increased by a further 1.2% in January, the 9th consecutive monthly increase

Unemployment figures reduced for the first time since early 2008

Are these signs that we have finally turned the economic corner? Well we, we hope so and if it isn’t the end, perhaps it is the beginning of the end of the slump. One statistic I am pleased to report (which can only be considered a good sign) is the increase in new sales, marketing and creative job opportunities we are being briefed on which is a clear indicator that some confidence is creeping back into the Midlands job market. We always experience a New Year job spike, but this year the upturn is definitely more pronounced and prolonged. Why not take a look at the latest jobs we have listed on our website and if any appeal get in touch. We have specialist sales, marketing and creative consultants awaiting your call