Hiring expectations for early 2012 have slumped to their weakest levels since the recession, with employers in business services leading the retreat. The UK is now split in two with a new East-West divide. However there are still hundreds of thousands of jobs out there – sectors such as Utilities continue to hire.

The UK‟s Employment Outlook has slipped to its weakest level since the final quarter of 2009, according to Manpower, the global leader in contingent and permanent recruitment workforce solutions. Employers in the Finance and Business Services sector suffer yet another setback this quarter with a 0 percent Outlook, representing the third consecutive five point quarterly fall, from +15 percent in Q2, to +10 percent in Q3 and +5 percent in Q4 of 2011. The sector‟s employers have now gone from being the most optimistic at the start of 2011 to being among the most pessimistic.

The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is based on responses from 2,100 UK employers. It asks whether they intend to hire additional workers in the coming economic 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. The national Seasonally Adjusted Net Employment Outlook of 0 percent1 indicates that the jobs market is now flat-lining; eight in 10 employers are not intending to change their staffing levels in the next quarter, but the number of employers looking to hire new staff is comparable to the number expecting to cut jobs. This compares to a marginally positive Net Employment Outlook of +1 percent in Q4, 2011.

“The 2012 jobs market sits on a knife edge. In some ways this is a reflection of a weakening economy. We hear stories about companies hoarding cash and not investing. In the same way, we see a number of business sectors battening down the hatches, holding onto existing levels of staff and not hiring with any great enthusiasm. Employers have now adopted a wait-and-see approach to hiring; they are cautious about the economy and the fear of a Euro-wide contagion is weighing heavily on their minds,” said Manpower UK Managing Director, Mark Cahill.

Of the sectors that are creating jobs, however, Utilities is the most positive, with employers in the Water, Gas and Electricity industries reporting hiring intentions of +13 percent, a rise of 2 percentage points on the previous quarter. This sector has proved particularly resilient, as the only sector demonstrating a positive Outlook in every quarter throughout the downturn. The Manufacturing sector also shows signs of optimism with employers reporting a cautiously optimistic Outlook of +5 percent.
Cahill continues: “We should not lose sight of the fact that there are still hundreds of thousands of vacancies out there. Employers continue to look for skilled and motivated candidates who show a real desire and determination to work. People who are willing to learn new skills are the ones who will succeed in this challenging environment. Those with a „refuse-to-lose‟ attitude will find work.”