Hiring intentions continue to grow for small firms, says research

Small firms and other British businesses are set to continue hiring over the next six months because of flexibility in the UK labour market.

That is according to new research from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and recruiter Harvey Nash, who concluded that the private sector's employment resilience is a "mini-miracle".

Furthermore, the survey found that 35 per cent of the enterprises questioned believe that their workforce will be bigger in 12 months' time, with only 15 per cent thinking the opposite.

Katja Hall, CBI's Chief Policy Director, said that there is plenty of positivity surrounding the labour market at the moment.

"The performance of our flexible labour market in generating jobs in a sluggish economy is a mini-miracle," she noted.

"Businesses look set to continue with the positive but cautious approach to hiring that we've seen over the past couple of years, and this is echoed in expected pay restraint designed to protect employment."

It comes after the British Retail Consortium revealed that retail recruitment grew by 2.9 per cent in the third quarter of the year.

Posted by Emily Smith

Date published 31 Oct 2012 | Last updated 29 Oct 2012