Business News Round Up (06/08/2020)
Hiring activity in Scotland continues to fall
Hiring activity in Scotland continued to contract in July amid challenging conditions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report. The Royal Bank of Scotland Labour Market Report on Jobs for July showed that permanent appointments posted a value of 40.9 last month, substantially below the neutral value of 50. The figure indicates that the number of permanent staff appointments fell. However, the drop in appointments was the lowest it has been since before the country entered lockdown in March, with the loosening of coronavirus restrictions leading to many businesses reopening and resuming hiring. Scottish recruiters also saw back-to-back increases in supply of permanent staff in July, whilst temporary staff supply rates saw their quickest rate of expansion for over 11 years.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/hiring-activity-scotland-continues-fall-22473650
Job decline eases but fears over second Covid wave ‘weigh heavily’ on recruitment decisions, KPMG and REC UK report shows
The decline in permanent job placements across the North eased to its softest rate for five months in July, but fears over a second Covid wave “weigh heavily” on employer decision making, a new study has shown. The KPMG and REC UK report on jobs today reveals July saw a softer, but still marked decline in recruitment activity, with demand for permanent and temporary staff continuing to fall sharply. That was while staff availability rose “substantially” as firms announced waves of redundancies due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The report was compiled by IHS Markit and based on responses from 100 recruitment and employment consultancies across the North. It also revealed that the combination of higher labour supply and weaker demand for workers drove sharp falls in both starting salaries and temp wages.
https://www.business-live.co.uk/economic-development/jobs-decline-eases-fears-over-18719403
UK construction activity jumps in July, but jobs at risk – PMI
UK construction sector activity grew at the fastest rate in almost five years in July as coronavirus related shutdowns eased, according to new data. The IHS Markit/CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to 58.1 in July from 55.3 in June. The score was above the 50.0 neutral mark for the second straight month and beat market forecasts of 57.0. Markit said UK construction companies signalled a sharp and accelerated expansion of business activity during July, led by another strong increase in house building. Further, new orders also picked up for the second month running, with survey respondents pointing to a boost to sales from the easing lockdown measures and the restart of work on site.
Law Firm sees almost 400 Scottish businesses enquire about redundancies
More businesses in Scotland made enquiries about making staff redundancies in June due to the economic effect of COVID-19, according to employment law specialist Law At Work. A total of 383 businesses contacted the firm to discuss the process for laying off staff in June, representing a 425% increase on queries received in April. Working on redundancy enquiries represented almost a quarter (24%) of the total work conducted by the firm in July, this is compared to just 4% in April.