Freelancers and umbrella company contractors – alongside permanent employees – could see some incoming pay raises this year, according to new research.
The newest Reed Job Index says there’s a good chance to see things reach better levels when it comes to job opportunities this year, based on the number of job listings currently available. The index found that the demand for highly skilled and qualified staff of all types is on the rise; indeed year on year vacancies have gone up by 29 per cent and could climb even higher over the course of 2014.
What this means at least in the short term is that if you’ve got a very specific skill set and the experience to back it up, you are more or less able to write your own ticket in the current employment environment – especially in the face of the skills shortage wreaking havoc with many firms and their plans to expand and grow. A smaller pool of qualified candidates and a larger supply of positions for these candidates means the competition for workers will be hotting up – at least in theory anyway – and that means businesses will be courting contract workers and permanent employees with attractive compensation packages that feature excellent pay.
Meanwhile, if a firm already has a good crop of workers it’s likely to institute pay raises to retain their talent. Otherwise they’re likely to see their star workers flee like rats leaving a sinking ship as they’re snapped up by other businesses willing to pay them better. Nothing particularly strange or noteworthy about that I suppose – except that in the current economic environment this could spell ruin for any firm that doesn’t increase worker pay sufficiently.
Yes it’s true that the economy is showing signs of recovery, but it’s a fragile hope at best. Most industry experts don’t feel very comfortable in classifying the financial landscape with anything more ebullient than cautious optimism, and that means firms are still highly dependent on keeping a good level of staff in order to turn a profit. A poorly-managed company could end up virtually shuttering its doors overnight if its best workers leave for greener pastures, so hopefully the business owners out there haven’t turned a blind eye to the absolute importance of keeping their workers fat and happy, so to speak.
