Business News Round Up (09/06/2023)
Scotland sees biggest fall in manufacturing jobs
Almost 200,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost since 2010, with Scotland suffering the biggest decline, according to new figures. The data, revealed by the GMG trade union, shows 6.7% of all manufacturing jobs have since the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition took office under David Cameron and Nick Clegg. In 2010, the UK supported 2.9 million manufacturing jobs. Scotland has seen a 15.7% fall in manufacturing jobs (31,300), while the East of England lost more jobs (40,100) but a lower percentage of the total (14%). Northern Ireland lost 14.6% (12,900) of its jobs in the sector. The decline will be discussed at GMB’s annual conference in Brighton today. Charlotte Brumpton-Childs, GMB National Officer, said: “The loss of almost 200,000 jobs is devastating for those workers – and their wider communities. Every job lost means a household income more stretched. In the worst cost of living crisis for a generation we need more decent, skilled jobs – not to shed them at this rate. Ministers must address this urgently or there could be worse to come. The global green jobs race could revolutionise UK manufacturing – creating tens of thousands of jobs in fabrication for new wind, solar and nuclear. But this Government seems happy to let them all disappear overseas.”
https://dailybusinessgroup.co.uk/2023/06/scotland-sees-biggest-fall-in-manufacturing-jobs/
London ‘economic bias’ blocking investment and jobs in the rest of the UK, MPs warn
A bias towards London and the South East of England is creating barriers to the Government’s plans to level up opportunities across the rest of the UK, MPs have warned. Foreign investment attracted by the Government created more new jobs in London than in Scotland, all of the north of England, Yorkshire and the Humber regions combined in 2021/22, the influential Public Accounts Committee found. MPs also believe officials seeking to lure foreign investment to Britain are too focused on securing short-term deals rather than understanding long-term economic benefits. Their report found an “economic bias” remained “baked into” the system, leaving barriers to the levelling-up agenda. It warned that the newly formed Department for Business and Trade (DBT) cannot continue to “fly blind” on how its work affects investment. In 2021/22, 16,000 of the jobs forecast to be created were in London, it said. This was more than the total across all of Scotland, North East England, North West England and Yorkshire and the Humber. The MPs’ inquiry followed a report by the National Audit Office (NAO) which found officials did not have a “clear overview of the relative strengths of local areas across the UK in different industry sectors to help it identify the most suitable projects for investors”.
https://inews.co.uk/news/business/london-economic-bias-blocking-investment-jobs-rest-uk-2398917
Flexible working patterns, including a switch to a four day week, could improve workplace productivity, according to a new survey by Alliance Manchester Business School
Flexible working patterns, including a switch to a four-day week, could improve workplace productivity, according to a new survey by Alliance Manchester Business School (AMBS). Productivity has become an increasing focus for UK businesses, with the World Management Survey suggesting output per worker in the UK is 20% to 30% below most industrialised economies. A survey of 500 employees in middle and upper management roles by AMBS revealed 37% feel a change in working patterns, such as flexible hours and reducing the number of days in a working week, could be a key way to improve productivity. Professor Bryan Lukas, Academic Director of Executive Education at AMBS, said: “Improving productivity isn’t just about managers pushing their people to do more work. It is about understanding people, and what holds them back, in order to help them excel. Following the pandemic, a lot of workers have come to expect a level of flexibility – the challenge for leaders is how they can facilitate this to the advantage of both the business and staff. The latest figures show that, while the number of hours worked across the UK was down 1.6% on pre-pandemic levels, output per hour worked was up by 2.1%[2], a strong indicator that reducing the number of hours work won’t necessarily result in a dip in productivity – quite the opposite.”
Royal Bank of Scotland Report on Jobs
The Scottish labour market saw a further drop in hiring activity during May, according to the latest RBS Report on Jobs survey. Lingering economic uncertainty continued to discourage both workers and firms alike. That said, the latest survey signalled a softer downturn in permanent placements as some recruiters were able to fill long-standing vacancies and organise hires for new projects. However, temp billings fell at a sharper pace. Moreover, demand trends weakened, with growth in permanent vacancies slipping to a 27-month low, and temp vacancies falling for the fifth straight month. As a result, pay pressures showed signs of easing in May. For the fourth successive month, Scottish recruiters registered a drop in permanent staff appointments in May. According to anecdotal evidence, employers were less confident in the economic outlook, which dampened overall hiring activity. That said, the rate of contraction was the softest in the aforementioned sequence and only marginal, as some recruiters noted the fulfilment of long-standing vacancies and the initiation of new projects in the latest survey period. The drop in permanent placements in Scotland was also less pronounced than that seen on average across the UK as a whole. Temp billings fell markedly across Scotland in May, thereby extending the current run of reduction to eight months. The pace of contraction accelerated from April and was the strongest since February. Respondents widely linked the drop in temp billings to a lack of available work, while there were also mentions that the additional Bank Holiday weighed on staff hiring.