SMEs to continue hiring throughout festive season

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are reporting strong hiring intentions to the end of the year, according to independent research released today by Manpower, the UK’s leading workforce management company. The report reveals that medium sized employers are the most likely to hire in the run-up to Christmas with a balance of 15% intending to increase their headcount. It also shows that 10% of small and 11% of large-sized businesses intend to increase their staff numbers before seeing in the New Year.

Although giving the least positive hiring outlook of 7%, employers in micro-sized businesses report a high level of hiring stability with 82% intending to make no change to their current staffing levels. These latest business figures are reported in Manpower’s Employment Outlook
Survey* of 2,140 businesses covering employer hiring intentions to the end of December 2005.

Comments Mark Cahill, Managing Director of Manpower: It’s encouraging to see SMEs continuing to report positive hiring activity through the Christmas period. Our survey shows that hiring amongst SMEs is robust: the job market is still healthy enough that employees are happy to move around and employers are willing to replace them. As ever, good candidates are in demand and employers need to regularly review their recruitment and retention policies.

Stephen Alambritis, head of Parliamentary Affairs at the Federation of Small Businesses adds: It’s satisfying to see proof of the job creation potential of SMEs, especially at this crucial time in the commercial calendar. SMEs currently account for 56% of the private sector workforce and it’s obvious from these findings that those in the jobs market should continue to look to this sector as a strong option for successful employment.