Round-up of the week

Permanent and temporary job placements on the rise

More and more people in the UK are securing both temporary and permanent jobs, according to new figures.

Data from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG shows an increase in both job types during May. Starting salaries for people in permanent positions also went up, as did hourly pay rates for temporary and contract staff.

Kevin Green, chief executive of the REC, said the figures show recruiters are "doing a great job at getting more and more people into work". However, he warned that a "jobs crisis is looming" because of skills shortages in various sectors. This, he said, is why four in ten recruiters feel candidate availability is deteriorating every month.
 
“Businesses are looking to expand, and roles like marketing, legal and HR are increasingly in demand," Mr Green commented. "This is good news for jobseekers because they can command higher starting salaries as employers compete for talent. But at the same time, shortages are a serious threat to long-term sustainability for organisations within both the private and the public sector.”

Job security improving in UK

The number of people concerned about keeping their job has dropped to a three-year low, a new survey has revealed.

According to research by Edenred and Ipsos, 26 per cent of employees are worried about their job security - which is the lowest figure since 2012. In addition, 66 per cent were found to feel confident about the future direction of their company.

However, the study showed that workers in the UK aren't as motivated as their peers in Europe. Just eight per cent said they have high motivation levels and 29 per cent said their enthusiasm has dwindled recently.

Andy Philpott, sales and marketing director at Edenred, has therefore called on leaders and managers to "step up to the challenge of engaging their teams" and getting them involved through effective communication.

"Happy and motivated employees help organisations achieve higher levels of performance and inspire others to do the same," he said.

Mr Philpott warned that this sense of apathy among employees is putting UK companies at risk of missing out. He added that organisations must consider what investments they can make to ensure everyone feels the "benefit of an improved commercial environment".