Whilst Britain’s most senior government minister may feel that his job prospects in 2010 are a little shaky, one in three senior executives believe government holds the best job security this year. In a study of over 3000 of Britain’s bosses by jobs site, TheLadders.co.uk, (www.theladders.co.uk), 32.5% of respondents said they felt that government held the best job security this year, followed by healthcare (30.2%) and education (20.6%).
Whilst retailers may have seen a boom Christmas, according to UK management this doesn’t translate into retail job prospects for 2010 with just 4.5% of bosses polled saying jobs were secure in the retail sector. If the UK’s big earners (£50K plus executives) are to be believed, the lowest performing sector for job security this year will be automotive. Just 1.5% of those polled thought jobs would be safe in Britain’s ailing car industry.
However 43% of bosses also reveal that their own organisations do plan to recruit in the next six months, up 28% from six months ago – a clear sign of increasing optimism in the economic climate.
And finally whilst last year’s election of President Obama inspired many US businesses, 73% of bosses here see the forthcoming UK General Election predicted for May as offering little hope to British business. Twenty percent say that the election may cause a temporary blip, whilst 30% believe that the UK economy is “in too big a hole” to spring back that quickly.
“It’s encouraging to see some signs of optimism in the job market,” says Derek Pilcher, Managing Director of TheLadders.co.uk. “The fact that twice as many senior management surveyed this year say they plan to hire compared to six months ago, is a clear signal of changing attitudes. It’s also interesting to see that whilst the public sector has been earmarked for many major cutbacks, those in the private sector still believe government holds some of the most secure job prospects in 2010.”
The percentage of British bosses who believe the best job security rests in the following sectors in 2010:
Government 32.5%
Healthcare 30.2%
Education 20.6%
Pharmaceutical 20%
Technology 18.9%
Food and Beverage 18.8%
Medicine 18.7%
Utilities 16.3%
Telecommunications 13.7%
Chemicals and Petroleum 13.1%
Internet 9.7%
Entertainment 7.4%
Science / R&D 5.7%
Finance / Insurance 5.5%
Transportation and Logistics 5.1%
Media 4.6%
Manufacturing 4.5%
Retail 4.5%
Advertising, marketing, PR 4.5%
Consumer / packaged goods 3.7%
Travel & Tourism 2.7%
Industrial products 2.3%
Automotive 1.5%