Responding to the latest ONS Labour Market statistics, Ben Willmott, Head of Public Policy for the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, comments:
“The latest employment figures underline the continuing strength of the UK’s flexible labour market and its ability to create jobs. The record number of people in employment and further reduction in unemployment also provide some much needed confidence in the health of the economy, particularly now the UK faces a period of uncertainty ahead of negotiations over its exit from the EU. The fall in unemployment for young people is especially welcome. However, it should be noted that most of the increase has come from more full time self-employed, with relatively little growth in employee employment.
“It is too early to say what effect the vote to leave the EU will have on employers’ recruitment and redundancy intentions over the next few months, but today’s figures at least provide some reassurance that the UK’s labour market is robust and had positive momentum before the referendum vote. Pay remains stable, with average weekly earnings increasing by 2.2 percent excluding bonuses, suggesting that a figure of about 2 percent is becoming the new normal.” Almost half of employers anticipate HR skills shortages in the second half of the year
44 percent of employers expect to encounter skills shortages when looking to recruit HR professionals in H2 2016 and 26 percent believe these will be exacerbated by Britain’s decision to leave the EU. 73 percent of employers plan to recruit primarily for mid-level roles. Research from Robert Walters has found that almost half of employers (44 percent) expect to encounter skills shortages when looking to recruit HR professionals in the second half of 2016. Over a quarter (26 percent) believe that Britain’s decision to leave the EU will further compound these shortages.
Demand for HR professionals is likely to increase as employers look to take on specialists who can provide support to adapt internal processes to comply with new employment legislation that is likely to follow Britain’s exit from the European Union. In particular, a number of pieces of legislation governing pay and bonuses for financial services professionals currently come from the EU, so it is likely that these regulations will be revised in the UK as negotiations on Britain’s status within Europe progress.
Charlotte Matthew, Manager, HR Recruitment, Robert Walters comments: “Regulatory change, particularly concerning levels of executive pay, from bodies such as the PRA, EBA and FCA has led to a drive among financial services firms to recruit HR specialists in this area. With a relatively small existing talent pool of these specialists, many employers have faced shortages of suitable candidates. This competitive environment has been compounded by the refusal of many firms to consider candidates without a background in financial services, forcing firms to compete for staff within a small talent pool.”
“In light of the outcome of Britain’s referendum on EU membership, it is likely that more changes in employment legislation will follow, further driving demand for HR professionals who can provide support in helping businesses adapt to new regulations. This may lead to salaries being driven up for HR professionals with the appropriate skill set, such as reward analysts and reward specialists.”
The majority of employers are planning to focus on recruiting mid-level management HR professionals, with 73 percent of businesses planning to concentrate on hiring at this level.
Charlotte Matthew continues: “With employers anticipating the possibility of significant changes in employment legislation and regulation, HR professionals who are in a position to facilitate and oversee projects relating to these changes are in high demand. HR professionals with experience in overseeing change and restructuring projects are likely to be in a strong position in the second half of the year when looking to change roles.”
Another high for self-employment as freelancers close to full capacity – IPSE, the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self Employed, has today (Wednesday 20 July) responded to the news that the number of self-employed workers in the UK rose by 300,000 to 4.79 million in the three months to May 2016. Lorence Nye, IPSE Economist, commented: “The number of self-employed workers is rising month on month as individuals choose to become their own boss. This growth reflects a much longer-term trend; the self-employed value the freedom of working for themselves and the majority have no intention of working for someone else.
“Firms are increasingly turning to the flexible labour market to find highly skilled workers on demand. IPSE’s own research shows that freelancers – just one subset of the wider self-employed community – are working to a record 87 percent of their capacity. This is good news for everyone; this group contributes £109 to the UK economy every year, a figure which will only increase as more people launch their own businesses. In these times of uncertainty, the self-employed will be more valuable than ever in driving the UK’s economic growth. In the wake of the Brexit vote the country needs to capitalise on its strengths – one of which is its highly flexible labour market. This will be vital to our success outside the EU. The new government should look to give this group the recognition it deserves and put its full support behind independent workers.”
