Against the backdrop of Brexit uncertainty, lower-than-expected economic growth and falling consumer con dence, employers in Scotland are becoming more cautious about hiring, according to ManpowerGroup, the world’s workforce experts. Scotland fell five points from previous quarter, to -2 per cent, the lowest scoring region, along with Northern Ireland.
The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is based on responses from 2,107 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. Jason Greaves, operations director at Manpower, said: ‘Hiring confidence in Scotland has hit its least confident level in over a year and we are seeing a slowdown across a variety of sectors.
It is not all doom and glook – we are seeing demand for contact centre and technical roles and these present some great opportunities for candidates with customer service and sales skills. Those with foreign language skills and IT skills are in particular demand. But many employers are cautious about their hiring plans taking longer to make hiring decisions.