Small and medium sized businesses are on track to create nearly half a million new jobs in the coming year, new research from GE capital says.
SMEs in the UK are likely to pour more than £45 billion into their recruitment efforts over the next 12 months and will be looking to hire an additional 450,000 permanent and contract workers alike, according to the SME Capex Barometer from GE Capital. In comparison to this year’s hiring figures, the new projection is a full 23 per cent higher, leading many umbrella companies to begin girding their loins for high levels of demand for skilled and experienced freelancers.
The GE Capital survey discovered that 65 per cent of firms surveyed reported a probable need for more workers due to SMEs transitioning to new technology in an effort to maximise productivity and grow heir business. GE Capital UK’s chief executive, John Jenkins, was gratified to see businesses in the UK looking once more to invest more heavily in job creation, especially after such a long spate of economic uncertainty, especially since it drove British SMEs to under-invest in new staff.
Productivity increases go hand in hand with businesses striving to upgrade their equipment and modernise their working methods, said Mr Jenkins. The economic recovery efforts can only be strengthened by such widespread investment, the chief executive added, and in his opinion will have not only a positive effect here at home but abroad as well.
