Recent research conducted by HSBC has discovered that 29% of people in the UK think their job is not secure over the next year and 37% believe the same will be true over the next three years.
Public sector workers are slightly less confident about their job security than their private sector counterparts.
The report also found that the average person would need to have savings of £1,667.25 for every month of unemployment if they were to maintain the same standard of living they enjoyed when they were employed. This figure was calculated on an average weekly gross pay of £499.
UK consulting firm Coalition has painted a gloomy picture on the short-term prospects for those working in investment banking. Revenues in the largest investment banks fell by 5% in the first quarter of this year and unless things pick up by the end of the summer, there are likely to be large scale job losses.
Despite this, the latest JobsOutlook from the REC suggests that employer confidence in the majority of sectors has picked up.
There is now a new optimism in hiring intentions for both short term and long term staff. 44% of employers plan to grow their permanent workforce within the next three months and 52% expect to hire more permanent employees within the next year. There are now only 20% of employers who are freezing recruitment, a big drop from the 43% peak late last year.
Demand for short and medium term temporary workers is also still strong as employers look to add flexibility into their workforces. 22% of companies intend to increase their usage of agency workers over the next three months but some employers have said they will gradually start to reduce their reliance on temporary workers in the next 12 months.
Director of research at the REC, Roger Tweedy, said we now have real confirmation that businesses are feeling more confident and are building up long-term strategies for planning their workforce.
© 2011 All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
Image: There’s a hole in my bucket, dear Liza… by ceeceeemmjay
