Finally, some positive financial news coming out of the UK. In the three months from July to September, the Economy emerged from recession growing by 1.0%. This reality is mirrored by APSCo research which showed that employers ramped up their Recruitment of temporary workers – a sign of cautious optimism.

Year on year, placements of Temporary staff in the UK professional jobs marked jumped 15%. REC/KPMG’s recent research pointed in the same direction, claiming temporary-worker recruitment at a 14 month high.

Suggestions that the main cause of a lull in temporary worker recruitment was due to changes to the Agency Worker Regulations have proven to have been misguided. Rather, it’s the economy; an outcome that will come as a relief to the recruitment community, who have absorbed administration costs adjusting to the new rules.

The big question is how long will recruitment for temporary jobs outpace recruitment for permanent placements? Perhaps we’re witnessing a dramatic change in the way companies employ, or maybe this is a natural lead up to a revitalised Permanent Placement market.

The answer depends on an employer’s respective position in the growth cycle. Despite an optimistic economy, companies that are undertaking cautious strategies will increase their emphasis on Temporary Workers, potentially as long term solution. Finance and manufacturing sectors can arguably be expected to explore this path.

Sectors such as engineering and IT will likely return to the traditional permanent placement model, ramping up recruitment drives as the economy continues to grow.

The only question that remains is if agencies are equipped fully take advantage of at least one of these models…

Filed under: Articles for Employers, Articles for Recruiters, Current Affairs, Rectruitment Trends