Has unemployment really peaked?

The FSB recently conducted a survey of more than 1,400 of its members and found that 63% of small businesses, including recruitment agencies and umbrella companies, do not plan to increase their workforce over the coming 3 months.

Mixed news on umbrella company workers’ prospects

Last week’s employment figures from the ONS showed that the number of people in work in the quarter ending January 2010 was 28.86 million. 54,000 people in full time work lost their jobs during that period bringing the employment rate down to its lowest since November 1996.