VACANCIES ACROSS THE UK RISE AT THE FASTEST PACE SINCE MAY 1998
KPMG
and REC’s Report on Jobs’ for January shows a strong growth in permanent
vacancies and increase in shortage of candidates available. December’s report
also showed a six year peak in salary growth.
Think Global Recruitment has been assisting firms across the
globe recruit accountancy and finance professionals for over 14 years.  In
that time Think Global Recruitment has seen the 2000/2001 down turn and now the
World Wide Global Recession.   The findings of this survey have not surprised
Abigail Stevens, Managing Director.  However, she is delighted that this
is a sign that the economy is strengthening.  Abigail herself has over 18
years recruitment experience and commented ‘Banks and Professional services
companies often study our industry’s performance to gauge what is happening in
the economy.  We were amongst the first to see the recession coming, as
companies started to put recruiting new staff on hold and now we are seeing a
sharp increase in the number of vacancies available, indicating the economy has
to be improving.  We literally watched as it went into recession, country
by country and now I am delighted we can see a similar reverse effect in most
locations throughout the globe.’
Commenting on the latest
survey results, which is
carried out by Markit, Bernard Brown,
Partner and Head of Business
Services at KPMG, said:
“Employer confidence continues to grow, with the thirst for new staff
hitting a fifteen-and-a- half year high in January. In a week showing
improvements to UK construction figures and growth
across the Eurozone manufacturing industry, it shouldn’t come as a surprise if other sectors
begin to report
peaks in performance.
Yet no one should be fooled into thinking that the road ahead will be easy to travel. Earlier this week markets across the globe fell as investors were rattled
by weak data. It’s unlikely to herald a crisis,
but should serve to ensure employers
remain vigilant to business threats.
“The
warning has been noted by employees because, although jobs are being created, January
saw another decline in the number of people putting themselves on the jobs market. The preference seems to be for temporary roles, suggesting that employees are adopting a ‘try before
you buy’ mentality
before committing to long-term roles.”
The
main finding for January are:
Further sharp rises
in permanent placements
and temp billings
Permanent staff placements continued to
increase strongly in January,
although the pace of expansion eased from the 45-month high recorded in December.
Similarly, temp billings
rose at a rate
only marginally slower
than December’s 15-year
peak.

Strongest growth
of demand for staff since May 1998

Overall
job vacancies rose
at a sharp and accelerated rate in January.
The pace of expansion was the fastest in over fifteen- and-a-half
years.

Permanent salaries
continue to increase
markedly…

The rate of growth of permanent staff salaries remained elevated
at the start of 2014, holding at a pace broadly
in line with December’s six-year peak.

…amid declining availability of candidates

Further
falls in staff availability were signalled in January.
Both permanent and temporary candidate numbers declined at marked rates,
albeit the slowest in
three months.
Abigail has pointed out the last summary fact is one that we
should all be aware of.   It is great news the economy is picking
up.  However, this will mean more competition for good quality staff and a
smaller pool to choose from.   Abigail said ‘although firm’s have
learnt a little from the 2000/2001 down turn and tried hard to not decrease
staff numbers, in particular trainee’s, with this recession going on so long,
they had no choice.  This means that between 2014 and 2018 I am predicting
demand for qualified accountants to get higher and higher and those available
to decrease.’
The good news for those using Think Global Recruitment is
that, being one of the longest established international accountancy and
finance recruitment consultancies, we have predicted this pattern and therefore
put into place a strategy to ensure that we continue to have the best available
professionals for our clients requirements.   We are also creative
and always happy to talk to organisations regarding ways they can attract those
hard to find accountants to join their teams.