In May, UK vacancies reached another record high, at about 1.3 million, so there were effectively more jobs than people making it a candidate’s market for the first time in several years.
What’s a candidate’s market, simple really… they’re the ones in the driving seat. There’s no urgency to take the job as there’s plenty more out there.
Several factors have come into play with this; up to 400,000 Gen X’s left the workforce prematurely due to the pandemic, and many Millennials and Gen Z preferring the lifestyle flexibility rather than a full-time job with one employer. Work From Home was a necessity during lockdowns but has become widely demanded by workers as a company’s preconception negative of “what if” was dramatically (and productively) answered and now we’re working in a world of a laptop, smartphone and super-fast Wi-Fi being deemed as a modern-day office
This resulted in upending the pre-pandemic office commute and paved the way for remote working. Load this against record price of fuel, which seems to have increased every day for recent memory, is causing some workers who commute by car to reconsider their current job because it is no longer financially viable once petrol costs are deducted.
Another factor is the so-called Great Resignation, where hundreds of thousands of workers have handed in notice for alternative better-paid employment elsewhere - often with marketplace competitors and Brexit too has had an effect.
For sure businesses are facing serious recruitment issues. Though there are indicators of slowing on the horizon, with short-term unemployment rising slightly, many recruiters say it's still a candidates' market.
Along with a documented national skills shortage, there is an extraordinary mix of circumstances, set against the backdrop of record 40-year inflation (double digits by Autumn we’re lead to believe by the Bank of England).
What this all means is that businesses, to profitably expand and keep staff from being bored and looking elsewhere, they need to rethink what they offer, not just in terms of salary but enhanced holidays, flexible and hybrid working or exclusively WFH, improved training, birthdays off, job share, recognition, etc.
A possible solution for employers is hiring specific expertise and skills. The last rise in Staffing Solutions came with the transition to a 24 hour day, 7 day a week economy, solidified further during the pandemic with Warehouse support. Agency workers are of great value to employers when there has been rapid growth, or a need for rapid growth, to strategically grow without a career commitment to begin with.
As business’ recover from the effects of the pandemic, we may see a surge in other industries utalising contract work, key account management and ad-hoc staff fullfilment.
There are many factors that affect the contract labour market. In a boom economy a skill shortage is created. Some people elect to join the contract workforce for reasons such as higher pay, flexibility and the option to move and work on interesting projects. Job security isn’t really an issue as there are plenty of other jobs out there.
If permanent solutions become difficult or time consuming, employers may have no other option but to fill a vacancy with a contractor. We’ve seen this before during the financial crisis of 2007, where a skill shortage was addressed and contracting thrived.
Many believe the perfect storm is brewing again for a boom in the contractor market once again. The pandemic saw freelancers laid off and employees furloughed but now they’re re-entering or entered the market again with new perspective and/or different set of values incorporating work/life balance more.
If you’re looking to bring in contract workers or believe this is something you need for your business, get in touch with one of our experts to see what we can do. Call us on +44 (0)1737 235 400 or email enquiries@weinnovate
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