Transport sector employers report improved hiring prospects

Eight months on from the UK’s official emergence from recession, employers within the country’s transport sector report slightly improved hiring prospects for the fourth consecutive quarter says Manpower, a world leader in innovative workforce and outsourcing solutions.

The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, which is based on responses from over 2,100 UK employers, shows that transport sector employers still expect to reduce headcount over the  next three months, albeit to a lesser extent – with a Net Employment Outlook of -2% reported.

The sector’s outlook remains in negative territory for the eighth consecutive quarter, but encouragingly it is stronger by three percentage points quarter-over-quarter and by 11 percentage points year-over-year.  While this shows a significant improvement in hiring intentions since the middle of the recession, the sector is still weaker than the national average, which stands at +1% for the fourth consecutive quarter.

Simon Edwards, Head of Driving and Logistics at Manpower UK, comments: “The Transport sector has been hit hard by the prolonged impact of the recession, and these latest findings confirm that it is yet to return to pre-recession hiring levels.  Industry issues including the proposed fuel duty increase and the impact of the Government’s autumn spending review are only compounding the problem, creating hesitancy among employers to commit to any increases in permanent headcount.

“However as a direct result of this cautious approach, we are seeing a significant increase in demand for temporary drivers in the run up to the Christmas period across many of our clients.  This should be seen as a good opportunity for drivers to work with different clients and broaden their experience over the coming months.”

Looking at the other industry sectors surveyed; utilities and finance & business services continue to be strong performers, each reporting confident outlooks of +10% for the final three months of 2010.  At the other end of the scale construction sector employers report the weakest hiring prospects at -5%, representing its ninth consecutive quarter of negative hiring intentions.

Within manufacturing, a sector that many have speculated will be pivotal in post-recession Britain, hiring expectations have risen for the sixth consecutive quarter to reach +4%, having been fuelled by the UK’s buoyant exports market as a result of increased global trade, a weak pound and restocking.

Simon Edwards adds: “The transport sector is one of a number of UK industries currently facing a talent shortage as skilled, qualified candidates become harder to find.  For jobseekers, investing in additional training and qualifications will certainly help increase longer term employment prospects.  The importance of this, teamed with gaining on-the-job experience in temporary roles, for instance, should not be underestimated.”


For further information, visit www.manpower.com

Published: 14/10/2010