Business News Round Up (12/05/2022)
Scotland has become a tech jobs haven through inward investment
Commitment to enterprise agencies attracted support from a significant number of inward investment projects over the past year. An economy boost is expected after new figures showed thousands of jobs had been secured through Scotland inward investment in the past financial year. Stats from Scottish Development International (SDI) have shown that more than 7,500 planned real living wage jobs had been generated by such investment over 2021 and 2022. There were around 113 investment projects supported in Scotland, 39 of which were investors locating in the country for the first time. More than 90% of the inward investment results are in the nine opportunity areas identified in the Scottish Government’s Inward Investment Plan, with the most predominant sectors being software and IT and energy transition. Figures, which combine inward investment projects supported by SDI, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise and South of Scotland Enterprise, were announced by Scottish Government Business Minister Ivan McKee at the 2022 World Forum for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
More than 230,000 manufacturing jobs lost since 2015, Labour research finds
Research carried out by the Labour Party has found that more than 230,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost across the UK since 2015 as Angela Rayner prepares to set out the party’s vision to “make Britain work for working people”. The analysis, which is based on data from the annual population survey, found that every region of the UK has seen a reduction in the number of manufacturing jobs but that areas outside of London have been especially impacted. The region affected has been Yorkshire and the Humber, where 43,900 manufacturing jobs have been lost, followed by the East of England – which has seen nearly 39,000 jobs disappear since 2015. More than 45,000 of the jobs lost across the country had been held by young people. Manufacturing jobs for young people have fallen by 40% in the West Midlands and by more than a quarter in the North East and North West.
Scottish job growth eases to four-month low in April
The start of the second quarter saw a further marked increase in hiring activity across Scotland, according to the latest Royal Bank of Scotland survey. That said, the seasonally-adjusted Permanent Placements Index slid from 71.7 in March to 65 in April, signalling the softest increase in permanent staff appointments in the year to date. In contrast, temporary billings expanded at the quickest rate since last September. Recruiters also noted that candidate availability fell more sharply, while demand for staff surged higher during the latest survey period. Consequently, there was further upwards pressure on rates of pay, with both starting salaries and wages increasing rapidly. Recruitment consultancies across Scotland noted a 16th successive monthly increase in permanent staff appointments during April. Although quicker than the UK-wide trend, the latest upturn in permanent placements was the slowest in four months. Panellists often mentioned that greater activity at clients and improved market confidence drove the latest upturn in placements. April data indicated a sharp rise in billings received from the employment of temporary staff at Scottish recruiters.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/scottish-job-growth-eases-four-26942416
Economy flirting with recession as growth slows
Britain could be heading towards recession as new data showed the economy grew by just 0.8% between January and March, down from 1.3% in the previous three months. Gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 0.1% in March. Chancellor Rishi Sunak said growth in the first few months of the year was “strong, faster than the US, Germany and Italy”, but opposition parties and businesses again called for further help. The British Chambers of Commerce head of economics Suren Thiru said the Bank of England’s recent decision to raise interest rates “continues to look like a misstep” and repeated the BCC’s call for an emergency budget. Darren Morgan, director of economic statistics at the Office for National Statistics (ONS), said: “The UK economy grew for the fourth consecutive quarter and is now clearly above pre-pandemic levels, although growth in the latest three months was the lowest for a year. “This was driven by growth in a number of service sectors as the economy continued to recover from Covid-19 effects, including hospitality, transport, employment agencies and travel agencies. There was also strong growth in IT.”