This blog post is based on content provided to me by TotalJobs.com.
Jobseekers are being encouraged not to get disheartened during their job search despite confidence taking a blow at the hands of the economic uncertainty.
While the economy grew by 0.8 per cent in the third quarter of this year, more than double the rate of some City estimates, large numbers of people are still searching for a job; a trend that was highlighted in the recent Totaljobs.com Jobseeker Confidence Survey Report.
In a poll that questioned 6,366 people, almost half (47.19 per cent) are not currently in employment. Of these, more than three quarters were previously in work but now find themselves unemployed for a variety of reasons.
While there’s little doubt that jobs have been shed in both the public and private sectors, there is light at the end of the tunnel. The UK’s economy has grown by 2.8 per cent over the past 12 months, which effectively ends the economy’s chances of experiencing a double dip recession.
A growing economy means the creation of more jobs, something that those seeking employment are being encouraged to take on board. While competition for positions may have increased, the country’s employment market is certainly looking a lot brighter.
In spite of the growing optimism, totaljobs’ survey also revealed that almost 65 per cent of jobseekers do not believe that companies are loyal to their staff. Their opinions may have been influenced by redundancies, however, with many companies and organisations forced to shed staff in order to stay afloat.
This has been a bitter pill for many employees to swallow, with many remaining concerned about the threat of redundancy going into their next position. While this may be a genuine worry in the public sector, there’s every indication that the private sector will be going from strength to strength; rendering the threat of redundancies very small indeed.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, a significant majority of respondents to the totaljobs poll (83.63 per cent) are of the opinion that employer loyalty to staff had decreased since 2008, the year the credit crunch and subsequent recession took their toll on the economy and the employment market.
Despite this apparent negativity, more than 40 per cent of those questioned had worked for their current or previous employer for three years or more; a figure that suggests a strong loyalty between employers and their employees.
The findings may suggest a degree of cynicism among those who have lost their positions, which is understandable given the challenges that many have faced when trying to secure a new job. However, the facts indicate that this cynicism may be unfounded and that loyalty is alive and well in the British jobs market; which bodes well for jobseekers up and down the country.
Recruiters need to be aware of these feelings and encourage their client’s to talk about the ways in they demonstrate loyalty to their staff. As the market improves and jobseekers can start to be more choosy about where they interview they will select those companies about whom they feel the best.
This of course relates to actual recruitment firms too. I know of one company who took on staff just as the recession was hitting only to have to make redundancies week’s later. Being seeing to make bad hiring and firing decisions may have a negative effect as the industry recovers!
Hi Louise. Interesting post and I was compelled to comment as the Check4Jobs forum (http://forum.check4jobs.com/index.php) has recently undergone a bit of a facelift and in this short space of time we’ve had quite a few responses and posts. Needless to say that the job seekers are incredibly jaded but something in your post got me thinking: With general perception being that job seekers feel employers are being less loyal; will this start affecting employees loyalty to their new employer? Will a once loyal, long term employee that has been made redundant be less trusting of a new employer? Could it spark a trend amongst the job seekers that have been made redundant in the recession? Will we see a new wave of employees that are less loyal and will jump ship at the first sign of trouble? It would be interesting in 12 months time to have some statistics from employers about whether their staff turnover has increased when compared to pre-recession times.
Loyalty and employee recognition are imperative for a successful and positive employer/employee relationship. Throughout the recession, employees who have maintained their current jobs have noticed the lack of appreciation, with about 85% believing that they are paid less now due to increased, recession-created competition (according to Simply Hired UK’s Today’s Job Seeker Report). At the same time, about 38% would be willing to take a pay cut to avoid redundancy in an attempt to recession-proof their jobs. As the economy strengthens, employers do need to create/maintain a positive relationship with their current employees and demonstrate their loyalty. As mentioned in the above comment, if employers neglect to show their appreciation and loyalty, then employees might begin finding themselves moving from job to job with a sense of newfound ease at the expense of the employer.