New Year cheer for job prospects in the North West

Job prospects in the North West are among the best in the country according to Manpower, the world’s workforce experts. With an employment outlook of +11%, the North West is second to only the South East (+12%) in the country in terms of job prospects and well above the national average of +7%.

The North East (+9%) also recorded a positive outlook, suggesting the Chancellor’s Northern Powerhouse may be warming up as large companies like TalkTalk relocate north to save money on property and staff costs.

The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is based on responses from 2,102 UK employers. It asks whether employers intend to hire additional workers or reduce the size of their workforce in the coming quarter. It is the most comprehensive, forward-looking employment survey of its kind and is used as a key economic statistic by both the Bank of England and the UK government.

Greg Hollis, Operations Manager at Manpower UK, said “The boost given to the Northern Powerhouse in the recent autumn statement is marked by a surge in hiring optimism in the North West going into the new year. It is estimated that companies could save as much as £20,000 a person a year in property and staff costs by relocating from London to Manchester. With TalkTalk the latest company looking at ‘northshoring’, the jobs market in the north has enjoyed a considerable lift.”

“In Manchester, the financial services sector is particularly buoyant and we are seeing a number of opportunities for bilingual sales people, including those who speak Scandinavian languages or German. It’s a similar picture in Liverpool, where sales and account management professionals are in demand.”

“However, finding talent remains a challenge for businesses in the North West and we are seeing a number of businesses counter-offering to ensure their best staff are not poached. It’s encouraging to observe that many job seekers are working with local training providers to develop the skills required to get back into the workplace, while the overall number of people out of work and seeking employment has declined.”

The national seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook has jumped two percentage points to +7% as companies ramp up hiring plans going into the New Year. The upbeat national picture is being fuelled by Britain’s booming business and finance services sector, at +10%, and particularly high tech areas such as cyber security. Recent high profile data breaches such as those at TalkTalk and Sony, have created a surge in demand for cyber security experts. ManpowerGroup has seen a record number of requests received for specialists with IT security expertise in 2015, four times the demand that it saw last year.

Despite the positive national picture in Q1 2016, employers face significant uncertainties later in the year ahead. Mark Cahill, ManpowerGroup UK Managing Director, comments: “The introduction of the National Living Wage in April 2016 is set to send shockwaves through the UK jobs market, especially in generally lower paid sectors such as retail, hospitality and social care. Many employers are still working out how much the national living wage will cost them – and how they are going to pay for it – and the picture that will emerge over the coming months may not be all rosy.

"This is combined with looming uncertainty over the timing and outcome of Britain’s EU referendum.

"The General Election had the effect of pausing the uptick in employment in April and early May and ManpowerGroup expects Brexit uncertainty to have an even more dramatic impact.”

The South East (+12%), the East (+9%), London (+9%), the South West (+9%), Wales (+9%) and the East Midlands (+8%) all stand above the national average. The Outlooks in the West Midlands (+6%), Scotland (+5%) and Yorkshire and Humber (+4%) are in positive territory, while Northern Ireland is the only region to record a negative Outlook for the first quarter of 2016, at -2%.