SMEs looking to hire this winter
Thu, 05 Nov 2009
Despite the economic downturn, almost a fifth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) intend to take on additional members of staff ahead of the Christmas period, it has been reported.
The Santander Corporate Group has discovered that 17 per cent of 1,019 SMEs hope to increase their employment numbers in the near future.
In comparison, just one in ten businesses plans to make redundancies, while around seven in ten expect to maintain current workforce levels.
SMEs generating a £1 million to £5 million turnover show the highest likelihood of recruiting more staff, followed by those with annual revenues of between £5 million and £25 million, Santander says.
A spokesperson from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) welcomed the news, but remained realistic.
He stated: "This is a positive development, but there is still work to be done.
"The FSB would like to see the establishment of dedicated small business managers inside job centres and closer links between Jobcentre Plus, Businesslink and skills boards."
Last week, the Confederation of British Industry's quarterly SME Trends Survey reported that confidence is on the rise within the sector.
It suggested that SMEs are the most optimistic about their business situation since April 2007.
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