<< back to previous page

Employers 'cautious' over recruitment

Published: Tuesday, 09 December 2008   Category: Graduate Job sector Reports

An accurate impression of the UK graduate jobs market may not emerge until well into 2009, as many employers are adopting a "wait and see" approach to hiring, it has been claimed.

Many company bosses will be assessing how their firm fares during the first quarter of 2009 before deciding to hire, fire or maintain the current headcount, according to Manpower.

Mark Cahill, managing director of the firm, says the mood in the recruitment market is largely one of "uncertainty".

"The figures confirm the depressed employer confidence we are experiencing as a business across the UK," he states.

University leavers seeking graduate jobs may be interested to learn that the Manpower study cited public sector firms as being among the most likely to take on new staff in the early part of 2009.

This finding echoes the comments of cabinet secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell, who told the Telegraph last month that the number of applications to the civil service fast stream had increased by 22 per cent this year.