Latest news: Job market future is 'bleak'

Graduates looking for employment in 2012 could face a bleak future after a national survey found that recruitment is on a ‘knife-edge’, with four out of five employers operating a recruitment freeze in the next three months. 16/12/2011

The Manpower  survey questioned 2,100 employers about their recruitment intentions. It found that recruitment is at its worst level since the recession started in 2009.

‘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,’ said Mark Cahill, Manpower’s UK managing director.

‘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 adapted a wait-and-see approach to hiring,’ he added.

The survey also found that the utilities sector has the most optimistic outlook for recruitment at the moment, being the only sector showing a positive outlook throughout the entire recession. The banking and finance and business services sectors have had the most pessimistic outlook.

Recruitment in the UK is also split along geographical lines, with the East of England largely optimistic whilst employers in the West are unlikely to hire.

‘Our data has revealed a new axis emerging in the jobs market. It’s almost as if someone has sliced England in half with employers in the East currently much more optimistic about hiring than those in the West,’ said Mark.