South West workers on the move in face of rising unemployment

New research has found that over half (53%) of workers in the South West and Wales are confident about finding a new job. They are also on the move with nearly two-thirds (64%) of South West employees likely to change jobs in the next 12 months and 77% of Welsh workers actively seeking new employment. TMP Worldwide's recruitment survey, The World of Work: Working in interesting times, has researched the views of 1,605 potential job seekers across the UK and Ireland.

This optimism about the job market is contradictory to new Government unemployment figures that show the number of people claming job seekers allowance rising by 14,000 to 1.61 million in the three months to March. Unemployment in the South West is the lowest nationally, standing at 3.6%.

Although confident in their ability to find a new job, employees are feeling more insecure in their current roles. Just under a third (31%) of employees in the South West and over half of workers in Wales (55%) say they feel less secure in their current roles, compared to the previous year. However, younger workers are much more optimistic about job security. 65% of Generation Y (those aged 30 and under) say they are confident or very confident about retaining their jobs in the coming year.

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Employers in the South West and Wales organisations should be relieved as talent stays in the region. Over half (51%) employees in the South West say they are much less likely to move to another region, however in Wales only a third (32%) were definite about staying in the county.

Gordon Brown loses votes of workers in the South West and Wales. Only 13% believe that Gordon Brown would enhance their organisation's employer brand. He falls into third place behind Richard Branson who won overall with 51% of votes followed by Alan Sugar with 23%. Mr Brown should be pleased as he is well ahead of David Cameron who received only 7% of votes from workers in Wales and the South West.

Andrew Wilkinson, Chief Executive of TMP Worldwide says: It is great to know that employees are still optimistic about their ability to find a new job, even though the economy is causing concerns about job security. Organisations must recognise this concern and seek to reassure their staff, where possible, that their futures are safe and secure.