CIPD study shows that the majority of employers wont recruit from core jobless groups

The latest quarterly Labour Market Outlook from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) reveals that more than sixty per cent of employers exclude groups with certain characteristics from the recruitment process.

UK employers are most likely to exclude those with a criminal record, those with a history of drug or alcohol problems and those with a history of long-term sickness/incapacity. And with fewer recruitment opportunities in a slightly cooler labour market, the Governmentís policy task of moving people from these ëcore joblessí groups up the job queue, off welfare benefits and into work looks set to get harder.

John Philpott, the CIPDís Chief Economist comments, ëWidespread reluctance on the part of employers to recruit the core jobless highlights the magnitude of the task facing the Government as it strives to get more economically inactive benefit claimants ñ especially those claiming Incapacity Benefit ñ off welfare and into work.î

Philpott continues, ìCurrent Government initiatives, such as Pathways to Work, are to be welcomed. But even a relatively slight cooling in the labour market, as now seems underway, is bad news for those at the back of the jobs queue and for ministers who may find it harder to meet their welfare reform objectives. As a result the Government will have to reinvigorate its welfare to work agenda by making greater efforts to both improve the employability of the core jobless groups and by addressing negative employer attitudes to people in these groups.î

The report offers some hope to the Governmentís welfare to work drive, finding that employers would be more likely to recruit the core jobless if more was done to improve their employability. But the report also suggests that employability measures must be matched by greater efforts to overcome the often unfair negative attitudes of employers toward the core jobless.

Philpott continues, ìThe extent of exclusion of the core jobless is not in every case justified on the basis of their potential. For example, of employers with experience of employing ex-offenders 87% consider them at least as productive as other workers and 75% consider them at least as reliable. This would suggest that people with criminal records and individuals from other core jobless groups are in many cases being unfairly excluded from the recruitment process. More must be done by policy makers, working with employers, to address negative stereotypes.î

The CIPDís quarterly Labour Market Outlook also monitors forward-looking recruitment intentions. This quarterís report finds that demand for labour is continuing to ease. Only a minority of employers (47%) predict that staffing numbers will increase during the summer months, the second lowest figure for net recruitment since the survey began in the first quarter of 2003.

Another significant feature of the survey is a substantial increase in the use by employers of part-time working, fixed-term contracts and temporary contracts. The proportion of employers with workers on fixed-term contracts has almost doubled from 25% to 46% in the past quarter- as has the number with temporary workers, which has leapt from 26% to 46%.

John Philpott, the CIPDís Chief Economist comments, ìConfidence in the jobs market appears to be levelling out following unprecedented high employment levels. And against a background of a weakening housing market and a slowdown in consumer spending, it would appear that employers are looking to gain greater flexibility from short-term contracts and part-time working.î

Summary of key findings:

General employment:

78% of employers intend to recruit this summer (June ñ August 2005), down slightly on the spring quarter.
In 47% of cases recruitment will result in an increase in employment levels. This is the second lowest figure for net recruitment recorded by any of the CIPD quarterly surveys to date, and well below the summer 2004 figure, suggesting that demand for labour has eased in the past year as economic growth has slowed.

Almost 1 in 5 employers (19%) plan redundancies this summer. But the overall redundancy rate remains low with employers adjusting to weaker economic conditions primarily by cutting back on recruitment.

Recruitment from ëcore joblessí groups:

More than 6 in 10 employers deliberately exclude people with certain characteristics ñ such as a criminal record, a history of alcohol or drug dependence or long-term sickness, and homelessness - when recruiting staff.

Employers looking to fill job vacancies are far more likely to consider migrant workers or other groups of jobless people such as the over 50s and lone parents.

The most disadvantaged ëcore joblessí, excluded by around 1 in 3 employers, are people with a criminal record, a history of drug or alcohol problems or a history of long-term sickness. Almost a quarter of employers do not consider homeless people for jobs, while 1 in 5 shut out those with a history of mental health problems.

Over a third of employers think that the core jobless do not make reliable employees. A quarter lack trust in the employability of the core jobless with almost a fifth citing a ëbad experienceí of people hired from one or other of the core jobless groups.

Well over half (55%) of employers say that nothing would persuade them to recruit the core jobless. But 1 in 10 employers think that appropriate public policy measures, along the lines of the Governmentís New Deal welfare to work programmes, might help. And a similar proportion thinks that more use might be made of employment advisers or mentors.