Employment survey shows north-south divide widens

THE gap in job prospects between the North and South of England is widening, according to a new survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development.

Its Labour Market Outlook Survey, which monitors the employment of more than 1,000 companies, has found what it describes as “stark” regional differences in the survey, with the index of employers looking to take on staff standing at -6 in the North, compared with +10 for the south of England.

The institute’s public policy advisor, Gerwyn Davies, said: “Increasing uncertainty about growth prospects in both the UK and global economies is now affecting hiring intentions, particularly in those industries such as manufacturing that stand to lose most in the event of a global slowdown.

“Together with the public sector redundancies, which will affect one in twenty front-line workers according to our survey, the recent story of an employment revival may become one of an employment relapse. The survey evidence suggests that the relapse will hit some regions much harder than others, which points to the further development of a two-speed economy.”