- UK jobs market beginning 2016 on a high note, on track to meet Government’s 1 million jobs target by 2020
- Record demand leads to cyber security salary surge, with some experts earning thousands of pounds a day
- “Northshoring” set to boost hiring in the north
2016 will begin with UK employers more optimistic than at any time in 2015, according to ManpowerGroup, the world’s workforce experts. The national seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook has jumped two percentage points to +7% as companies ramp up hiring plans going into the New Year. However, later in the year there are potential bumps in the road with employers braced for the introduction of the National Living Wage and continuing uncertainty around Britain’s membership of the EU.
The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is based on responses from 2,102 UK employers. It asks whether employers intend to hire additional workers or reduce the size of their workforce in the coming quarter. It is the most comprehensive, forward-looking employment survey of its kind and is used as a key economic statistic by both the Bank of England and the UK government. The upbeat national picture is being fuelled by Britain’s booming business and finance services sector, at +10%, and particularly high tech areas such as cyber security. Recent high profile data breaches such as those at TalkTalk and Sony, have created a surge in demand for cyber security experts. ManpowerGroup has seen a record number of requests received for specialists with IT security expertise in 2015, four times the demand that it saw last year.
Mark Cahill, ManpowerGroup UK Managing Director: “There are millions of cyber attacks every day with a total cost to the global economy of up to $575 billion a year.1 Companies are having to invest heavily to protect themselves and they now believe that cyber breaches are inevitable, with their focus moving to responding to attacks rather than just prevention. We expect the biggest growth area next year to be in ‘cyber security crisis management’, with large organisations bolstering their own in-house security teams as well as calling on specialist contractors.”
“The UK Government announced recently that it would increase spending on cyber security to nearly £2 billion by 2020. This will include improving the level of teaching of cyber skills at schools, which will equip the next generation with the right skillset but there is a pressing demand right now. The shortage of people with the required skills means salaries for this new breed of specialists are vast - Christmas really has come early for this in-demand group. Some individuals can command daily rates in excess of £3,000, and some top cyber security specialists can even 1 Net Losses: Estimating the Global Cost of Cybercrime, Center for Strategic and International Studies in association with McAfee, June 2014 earn five-figure sums daily. With the potential risk to companies so significant and no signs of demand falling, those sky high salaries look set to continue.”
The influence of the digital world is also affecting hiring patterns in other areas. Three quarters of British consumers expect to do at least half of their Christmas shopping online this year, while only 3% say they won’t buy any gifts at all online. This huge shift in the nation’s shopping habits away from the high street has pushed retail sector hiring below the national average, at +5%. Cahill again: “A report by PWC found that there was a net reduction of 437 shops over the past year as stores on our high streets continue to close. However, not all aspects of retail are suffering and some are benefitting from this shift to online. With retailers such as Argos and Amazon offering same-day delivery and some of the big names on the high street investing in expanding their own delivery fleets, our data reveals that the business areas that support online shopping - transport, storage and communications – are powering ahead this quarter, with an Outlook of +9%.”
Promoters of the Northern Powerhouse will also be cheered as the boost given to the project in the recent Autumn Statement is marked by a surge in optimism in both the North East and North West, at +9% and +11% respectively. Cahill continues: “It is estimated that companies could save as much as £20,000 a person a year in property and staff costs by relocating from London to Manchester. With TalkTalk the latest company looking at “northshoring”, the jobs market in the north has enjoyed a considerable lift. Companies with existing operations have also been expanding their commitment to the north: last week, production began on the Infiniti Q30 car at Sunderland's Nissan plant, a move which has created 1,000 jobs. More than half of Sunderland's manufacturing jobs are now car-related and, with production on another new Infiniti model beginning at the Nissan plant in spring, we see this trend continuing in 2016.”
Despite the positive national picture in Q1 2016, employers face significant uncertainties later in the year ahead. Cahill continues: “The introduction of the National Living Wage in April 2016 is set to send shockwaves through the UK jobs market, especially in generally lower paid sectors such as retail, hospitality and social care. Many employers are still working out how much the national living wage will cost them – and how they are going to pay for it – and the picture that will emerge over the coming months may not be all rosy. This is combined with looming uncertainty over the timing and outcome of Britain’s EU referendum. The General Election had the effect of pausing the uptick in employment in April and early May and ManpowerGroup expects Brexit uncertainty to have an even more dramatic impact.”
Ian Dowd, Marketing Director at NGA Human Resources commented:
"It is great to see UK businesses so optimistic about hiring staff in 2016. We mustn’t forget that we are in the midst of a skills crisis though, which is heavily impacting recruitment across the UK. The challenge businesses will face is filling these roles with people that have the right skills. Our recent research has shown that 7 in 10 UK organisations are making compromise hires, which do nothing to combat the skills crisis. This also impacts UK productivity, which continues to fall behind other large nations. Businesses need to ensure they have an in-depth understanding of the skills they currently have and of those that they need to grow and expand. Only with this insight will companies make meaningful hires in 2016.”
www.manpowergroup.com
1 Net Losses: Estimating the Global Cost of Cybercrime, Center for Strategic and International Studies in association with McAfee, June 2014
