Business News Round Up (08/09/2022)
Scottish permanent staff hires fall for first time in 20 months
August data revealed a renewed fall in permanent staff hires across Scotland, according to the latest Royal Bank of Scotland Report on Jobs. The index fell below the 50.0 no-change mark, to signal a modest drop in permanent staff appointments that ended a 19-month period of expansion. Growth in temporary billings also moderated to a seven-month low in August. According to panellists, skills and candidate shortages weighed on hiring activity, although some recruiters also noted that an economic slowdown and rising market uncertainty added to the loss of momentum across the Scottish labour market. At the same time, demand for staff continued to rise, which drove further increases in both starting salaries and hourly wages. Temporary staff billings across Scotland increased for the 24th successive month during August. Though solid, the rate of expansion eased to the slowest since January and was below its long-run average. Where a reduction was reported, panellists cited, lingering Covid-19 impacts and rising economic uncertainty. August data highlighted a further reduction in the supply of permanent candidates across Scotland. Acute skill and candidate shortages were linked to the latest decline. However, though the extent to which permanent staff availability contracted was the slowest in five months, it remained sharper than the UK-wide trend.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/scottish-permanent-staff-hires-fall-27935848
Bruntwood SciTech submits plans to create 1,600 jobs at Alderley Park
Plans have been submitted for a major development at Alderley Park in Cheshire that have space for 1,600 jobs. Bruntwood SciTech, a 50:50 joint venture between Bruntwood and Legal & General, is behind the proposals to deliver two new buildings for lab and office space, totalling around 200,000 sq ft. Subject to permission being granted, 100,000 sq ft of new lab space would be be created over five floors which would be suitable for both chemistry and biology uses, as well as associated write-up space. The new office building would provide 100,000 sq ft of workspace across six floors, offering coworking, serviced, leased, and made and managed spaces. Bruntwood SciTech said the new developments would be suitable for life sciences, technology, and healthcare companies, particularly those working in drug discovery and development, diagnostics, digital health and AI sectors. In addition to its ongoing £247m investment, which has seen a complete redevelopment of the park, this will be the first newly built commercial space to be delivered since the site was acquired in 2014.
https://www.business-live.co.uk/commercial-property/bruntwood-scitech-submits-plans-create-24951586
Borrowing costs for UK at highest level in 11 years as investors assess ‘fragile’ economy
UK borrowing costs hit their highest level in more than 11 years as markets reacted to Liz Truss’s plans to combat Britain’s energy and cost of living crisis. Yields – the rate of interest – on the UK 10-year gilt or bond rose above 3 per cent – the highest since 2011 and up from 0.6 per cent 12 months ago. It means a sharp increase in the cost of government debt. It came as investors anticipated Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s expected announcement of a spending package of more than £100bn to protect households and industry from rocketing energy bills – which some forecasts suggest could hit £6,000 for an average household next year. The stock market made gains, with retail shares flourishing after the new Prime Minister was confirmed in office, amid speculation that consumers will have more spending power in the coming months if spiralling energy bills are to be subsidised. Deutsche Bank estimates only 20 to 25 per cent of the rescue package will be met by lower government spending over the coming years, while the rest will have to be borrowed.
1 in 2 Scottish workers unlikely to have a break before Christmas due to understaffing, survey shows
Half of Scottish office workers aren’t able to take any time off work between now and the Christmas break, due to understaffing and workload issues, according to a new survey. The Annual Leave Allowances survey from Just Eat for Business asked the nation’s employees how and when they utilise their annual leave, whether they feel encouraged to have breaks off work, and how time off impacts their work/life balance. Despite annual leave being essential for rest, relaxation, and re-energisation, many of the region’s workers are forced to keep burning the candle at both ends to combat understaffing. For 1 in 2 people, their work/life balance will deplete further between now and Christmas, as they’re set to have their annual leave continually rejected due to a lack of resources. This follows findings that 40% of office workers regularly or always have their time off requests denied due to staff absences, whilst a further 10% repeatedly have their annual leave requests rejected to accommodate excessive workloads. The trend is set to continue throughout the rest of the year – particularly given that many workers with children will be knuckling down to make up for any drops in productivity seen over the summer holidays, and again ahead of the October half term. This is a nationwide issue, as a report named labour shortages as the ‘most urgent problem’ facing the UK economy, while over a third of UK businesses are regularly forced to turn down work due to staff shortages, which are projected to continue for the next two years.