Business News Round Up (15/05/2023)
Permanent staff appointments fall at quickest pace since July 2020
The latest KPMG and REC, UK Report on Jobs: North of England survey showed diverging hiring trends across the region as a faster drop in permanent placements compared with a sustained upturn in temporary billings. Overall, permanent staff appointments fell at the quickest rate since July 2020. Amid reports of redundancies, recruiters noted an improvement in candidate availability in April. Nonetheless, wage pressures remained elevated, with starting pay across the North of England rising at faster rates than those seen in any other monitored English region. The KPMG and REC, UK Report on Jobs: North of England is compiled by S&P Global from responses to questionnaires sent to around 150 recruitment and employment consultancies in the North of England. The number of people placed into permanent roles across the North of England fell once again during April. The decrease accelerated markedly since March and was the strongest since July 2020. According to surveyed recruiters, client demand for staff had waned. All four monitored English regions saw a drop in permanent placements, with the decline across the North of England outpaced only by that seen in London.
Low paid Scottish workers ‘have least flexible working’
Low paid Scottish workers have the least flexible working, and the gap between the number of flexible workers on the lowest and highest salaries has increased in the last year. New figures released by Flexibility Works also revealed that half (51%) of all Scottish workers earning less than £20,000 a year work flexibly, compared with 80% of workers earning more than £50,000. The figures are from Flex for Life 2023, an annual analysis of flexible working in Scotland by social business Flexibility Works, with support from the Scottish Government and The Hunter Foundation. The report is based on research with 1,011 Scottish workers, 248 Scottish employers and 216 unemployed Scottish adults looking for work. Nikki Slowey, director, and co-founder of Flexibility Works said: “We’re concerned that while the pandemic has increased flexible working in Scotland overall, the benefits are skewed towards workers on higher incomes where good flexible working keeps getting better, while little changes for workers on the lowest incomes. Initially we thought this was because more low paid workers are in frontline roles, such as in the care, manufacturing, and hospitality sectors, where employers need to be more open-minded and creative to create flexibility. But our figures show this isn’t the case – frontline or not, the higher earners always have significantly more flexibility than lower earners. Lack of trust is likely to be part of the problem because we know some employers still expect workers to ‘earn the right’ to work flexibly; but the full reasons are something we need to explore further. “
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/low-paid-scottish-workers-have-29961941
Business activity growth gains momentum in April
The North West private sector made a positive start to the second quarter, the latest UK Regional PMI survey from NatWest showed, recording a strong rate of business activity growth alongside a faster rise in employment. On the price front, local firms recorded a sharp and slightly accelerated increase in average prices charged for goods and services, despite signs of easing cost pressures. The headline North West PMI Business Activity Index – a seasonally adjusted index that measures the month-on-month change in the combined output of the region’s manufacturing and service sectors – registered above the 50.0 no-change mark for a third straight month in April. Furthermore, at 53.5, up from March’s 50.7, the latest reading signalled the strongest rate of growth for a year. April survey data showed a third straight monthly increase in new business across the North West. Despite picking up slightly from March, the rate of growth remained only modest and was noticeably slower than the UK-wide average. The increase in new work in the North West was driven exclusively by the region’s service sector, with local manufacturers recording a sustained downturn in demand. Firms operating in the North West remained optimistic about the year ahead outlook for activity in April. Expectations edged up slightly from the previous survey period and were broadly in line with the national average.
Scottish economic output growth quickens in April
Private sector activity grew at a strong and quickened pace at the start of the second quarter, according to the latest Royal Bank of Scotland Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) survey. The headline Business Activity Index ticked up for the third month running, posting a 10-month high of 54.3; up from 52.9 in March. According to surveyed firms – a panel of around 500 manufacturers and service providers – increased customer activity was key to the latest upturn in Scottish private sector output. New orders also increased for the third month running, although the rates of growth across Scotland for both variables were weaker than those seen at the UK level. Scotland’s private sector firms were largely optimistic regarding the 12-month activity outlook in April. Companies were hopeful that improved demand conditions, business expansions, increased advertising and the launch of new projects would help support future growth in activity. However, the respective index printed a three-month low due to a notable weakening of confidence at goods producers. Scotland was the second-least confident part of the UK, ahead of Northern Ireland. Additionally, after Northern Ireland, Scotland registered the second-strongest rise in payroll numbers across the UK.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/scottish-economic-output-growth-quickens-29961780