Transport employers are looking to increase their staffing levels ahead of the Christmas rush, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.
“Last year, retailers and delivery companies took a lot of flack for the backlog of deliveries caused by Black Friday and Cyber Monday discount events,” said Simon Edwards, operations director at Manpower.
“As a result, we’re seeing many delivery networks re-evaluating the levels of their seasonal workforces – and also engaging them earlier – to handle the extra demand generated by pre-Christmas sales.”
With an outlook of +5 per cent, hiring prospects for the final months of 2015 are seven percentage points stronger than those forecast for quarter three.
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. A ‘Net Employment Outlook’ is calculated by subtracting those employers who plan to reduce staffing levels from those who plan to hire staff.
After three consecutive quarters at +6 per cent, the UK jobs market as a whole stands at its least optimistic level in three years, just +4 per cent.
