Manufacturing sector fuels employment growth in the West Midlands
THE manufacturing sector is helping to fuel growth in the West Midlands’ jobs market as companies looking to expand and meet demand for new business are taking on new staff.
The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey said employment within the region was up 9% on the last quarter – above the national average.
Recruiter Manpower said job prospects for the region had been steadily increasing over the course the year, fuelled largely by the strength of the manufacturing industry.
However, the engineering sector is not the sole contributor to the improving situation. The survey concluded new opportunities had also emerged in industries such as media, marketing, insurance and the financial services.
The survey is based on responses from 2,101 UK employers. It asks whether employers intend to hire additional workers or reduce the size of their workforce in the coming quarter. It is the most comprehensive, forward-looking employment survey of its kind and is used as a key economic statistic by both the Bank of England and the UK government.
It said the national Seasonally Adjusted Net Employment Outlook of +8% indicated that the jobs market was up on the second quarter of 2014 when the Outlook was +7%.
“Birmingham is once again driving the employment outlook for the West Midlands and helping to ensure that once again the region is outpacing the national average,” said Krissie Davies, Operations Director at Manpower UK.
“The region has long been a hub for engineering and manufacturing and it is this sector again that is producing the greatest opportunity for job seekers. However, what we are hearing from our clients is that they are struggling to find suitably skilled candidates for the roles they are posting. This skills shortage is by no means unique to the West Midlands, but is something that candidates need to consider when they are applying to roles in the region.
“It is not just manufacturing that is booming. Sales and customer service positions within the media, marketing, insurance and financial services industries, as well as logistics managers, are all in strong demand in the region. While the majority of these roles are full time, employers are being increasingly flexible to ensure that they are able to secure the very best candidates – for example, allowing staff to work around school hours to help parents return to work.”
Going into the third quarter of 2014, there is optimism across all of the UK’s regions with the exception of Northern Ireland (-5%). It is the only region expecting to shed jobs in the next three months.
