Conditions easing in UK jobs market
Tue, 10 Nov 2009
Fewer firms are now planning to make redundancies in the UK, according to a new report.
The latest Labour Market Outlook report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and KPMG suggests that market conditions are improving and firms are less likely to cut their headcount than in previous months.
However, it also suggested that reduced demand for labour means that the jobs market remains a long way from returning to good health.
Pay rises continue to be "modest" and working hours are still being cut at many firms, the study found.
Gerwyn Davies of the CIPD said conditions are "not anywhere near as bad as they were earlier in the year, when redundancies spread through the economy like a virus".
Indeed, there is "growing hope" that the decline in job prospects may slow even further in the next year, he stated.
Last week, PricewaterhouseCoopers predicted that despite the improving conditions, the UK unemployment rate will still reach the three million mark by the end of next year.
The professional services giant said the jobless rate rose from 5.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2008 to 7.8 per cent in the second quarter of 2009, adding that this trend will take some time to reverse.
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