Scottish jobs outlook hit by uncertainty over Brexit
EMPLOYERS in Scotland plan to cut jobs in the coming quarter, with their overall hiring intentions tumbling to the weakest since 2012 amid uncertainty created by the Brexit vote, a survey shows.
Recruitment company ManpowerGroup’ survey signals hiring intentions are significantly weaker in Scotland, where a majority of the electorate voted to remain in the European Union, than in the UK as a whole.
As well as Brexit-related uncertainty, as employers await the UK Government’s triggering of Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to start the two-year exit negotiation period, ManpowerGroup also cited the oil and gas sector’s woes as a factor in the weaker hiring intentions in Scotland.
Subtracting the percentage of Scottish employers planning to increase staffing levels in the coming quarter from that expecting to cut jobs, a balance of three per cent forecast a reduction in their workforces. This contrasts with an eight per cent balance planning to hire in the previous quarterly survey.
The survey covers the private and public sectors.
Under the heading of “jobs sentiment sours in Remain-supporting Scotland”, ManpowerGroup highlights the fact that hiring intentions north of the Border are much weaker than those in the UK as a whole.
A net five per cent of UK employers plan to increase employment over the coming quarter. In the previous survey, a balance of seven per cent of UK employers had planned to increase staffing.
ManpowerGroup noted private sector hiring intentions in the UK as a Tuesday, 14th March, 2017
whole were now at their weakest since the opening quarter of 2014.
Jason Greaves, operations director at Manpower Group, said: “With Article 50 looming and Scotland’s post-Brexit position still uncertain, lots of employers are battening down the hatches and cutting costs. Aberdeen’s jobs market is particularly slow due to the ongoing oil slump.
“In Edinburgh, we’re seeing how political uncertainty is also affecting the availability of candidates, with many reluctant to take risks and move to new firms. As a result, employers are struggling to fill their vacancies.”
ManpowerGroup noted London, “the other strong Remain area”, had seen the second-sharpest fall in hiring intentions among employers.
UK managing director Mark Cahill said of the survey findings for the UK as a whole: “The impending trigger of Article 50 is clearly affecting confidence in the jobs market. The private sector plans to hire at its slowest rate since 2014, with only construction, manufacturing, and transport and communications planning to hire at previous levels.”
ManpowerGroup’s survey was released, under embargo, before First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced yesterday she would seek the approval of the Scottish Parliament next week to start negotiations with the UK Government on staging another independence referendum. She said she wanted a vote to be held between autumn 2018 and spring 2019.
Mr Greaves cited “some cause for optimism” in the Scottish labour market, with large engineering and manufacturing projects creating job opportunities, “from project managers to administrative professionals”.