Job jump for public sector

The survey, based upon responses from 2,100 UK employers, asked whether employers intended to hire additional staff or whether they would be targeting a reduction of workers in the coming quarter. It revealed an outlook of +12%, which is double that of the national average for the second quarter of this year.

Mark Cahill, Manpower's managing director, was a little surprised by the outlook. He said: "You'd think that, with austerity cuts across government departments, public sector hiring would be in the doldrums. But the jobs Outlook has actually jumped 10 points on the last quarter to +12%, its most optimistic level for four years."

Cahill pinpointed several possible reasons for the surprising results. He said: "First, staff shortages mean some organisations need to take on staff in order to maintain frontline services. Take the NHS, where a number of trusts are looking abroad for clinical workers amid a need for doctors and nurses."

Cahill also paid tribute to digitisation as a contributing factor for the leap in figures. He commented: "Equally, as the public sector looks to streamline its services, we’re seeing an increased focus on digitisation, which can lead to an increase in hiring for new skills. We’re helping some of our public sector clients recruit tech experts to deliver new electronic services. It’s also possible that some employers have their eye on securing talent in preparation for possible reforms after the general election."

The survey highlighted that the Midlands held the strongest hiring intentions, with the East Midlands showing a +11% increase and the West Midlands a +12% increase. London held a steady +7% outlook, with all of the UK regions, with the exception of Scotland, showing positive optimism going into the second quarter of the year.

www.manpowergroup.co.uk