IMMEDIATE JOB PROSPECTS
FOR PUBLIC SECTOR FORECAST TO GROW
Manpower: 1 in 5 public sector employers plan to add to their payrolls
in Q2
Despite Gordon Brown’s announcement regarding
job losses in various Whitehall departments, employers in the public
sector as a whole are looking to expand their workforce for the
three months until the end of June, according to survey results
released by Manpower today. On balance, 20% of employers in the
public sector intend to increase staffing levels for the quarter
ahead. This result is higher than the second quarter average for
the sector over the last 13 years.
Comments Ruth Hounslow, Head of Public Affairs at Manpower: “Our
survey is reporting that employers in the public sector for the
three months ahead, will continue to provide for their current staffing
needs on the basis of how they have operated in recent quarters.
“There are over 5 million people working in the public sector¹.
Brown’s speech highlights that there will be a gross reduction
of 54,000 public sector posts by 2008 but after redeployment, a
reduction of 40,500 staff². These cuts, over a four-year time
period, should not have a negative affect on overall employer confidence
in the sector. Indeed, despite the public emphasis on specific civil
service job losses, the number of public sector jobs overall is
still due to rise by 360,000 between 2003 and 2006.³
”As with many other sectors, it is struggling to find the
right skills for the jobs available. Public sector employers have
as much of a training and skills challenge as the private sector.”
Anecdotal opinion suggests that employer confidence within the public
sector is still buoyant and skilled workforces in much need as ever:
Comments Alan Warner, Director of People and Property for Hertfordshire
County Council: “ From our experience as one of the largest
recruiters of staff in Hertfordshire, it is highly likely that public
sector hiring will continue as usual provided skilled people continue
to come forward to help meet the positions we need to fill. You
have to remember that we mainly employ people who are providing
direct services to the community and in some cases for instance,
social care that is particularly difficult. It is a constant pressure
to get the right people into these very important jobs.”
Unique in its predictive nature, the Manpower Employment Outlook
Survey provides a forecast of employer hiring intentions for the
quarter ahead: April to June 2004. The public sector falls under
the community and social services category within the Manpower survey.
Within the sub-sectors making up the community and social services
sector, 34% of employers in public admin and defence plan to take
on staff, which is almost double the national average for job prospects
in the UK (16%). Similarly, employers in the health sub-sector intend
to add to their pay rolls for the three month until the end of June
(23%), as do employers in the education sub-sector, despite recording
a drop in hiring intentions from a quarter and year ago.
Adds Hounslow: “There will be ongoing recruitment programmes
in the education and health sectors as they continue to battle with
skill shortages in these areas. The education sub-sector may be
recording slightly deflated figures but this is not the time of
the year when employers in education are likely to be recruiting.
Schools tend not to recruit around Easter time and the lead into
the summer vacation because of the nature of the school year. ”
Ends
NOTES TO EDITORS
¹Office of National Statistics: Jobs in the Public and Private
sectors Author: Claire Hardwidge ISSN: 0013 0400
²Budget 2004
³Guardian 18 March 2004
For international comparisons and visual library with graphs, visit
www.manpower.com
About the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey
Manpower is a leading recruiter of permanent, temporary and contract
workforces, employing around 100,000 people in the UK each year.
The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, [formerly Manpower’s
Quarterly Survey of Employment Prospects] is conducted quarterly
to measure employers’ hiring intentions for the forthcoming
quarter. Unique in its predictive nature, the Survey is widely used
in Government and industry, including The Bank of England’s
Monetary Policy Committee as evidence of labour market activity.
The Survey has been running for more than 40 years and is based
on 2,500 interviews with public and private employers in the UK
and 35,000 interviews collectively across 18 countries worldwide.
See www.manpower.com
for global reports.
About Manpower
Manpower is the UK’s leading workforce management company,
specialising in permanent and temporary recruitment, HR services,
managed services, outsourcing and HR consultancy.
Manpower has been established in the UK since 1956 and today works
with organisations in both the public and private sector. Manpower’s
UK-wide network of 300 offices allows the company to meet the needs
of local and national customers. This includes numerous small and
medium sized enterprises, as well as larger organisations such as
BMW, BT, Heinz, Hertfordshire County Council, IBM, National Blood
Service, New Deal South Wales, Royal Mail and Xerox.
The focus of Manpower’s work is on raising productivity through
improved quality, efficiency and cost-reduction, enabling customers
to concentrate on their core business.
Manpower has a highly skilled workforce of 100,000 temporary employees
who stay loyal to the company (and its customers) thanks to best
in class employment benefits. These include a contract of employment
and a free e-learning tool offering staff over 1,000 courses in
a diverse range of subjects, keeping Manpower’s workforce
up to date with today’s ever-changing working environment.
For further information, please contact the Manpower Press Office
on 020 8870 2214. Or you can e-mail us by selecting Press
Office from the Contact
Us page.
