Something we’re being asked a lot, “How are your other clients doing? Is everyone else finding it the same as us?”. With this in mind, we thought we should share the trends we’re seeing across the various sectors we work in;

1. A big reduction overall staff demand.

The initial spread hit employers hard. This isn’t news to anyone in business and the figures back it up. Confidence in making hiring & investment decisions fell by 21% in March. For the first time since the global crisis, permanent and temporary new appointments fell. Permanent placements falling harder with employers happier to make shorter term decisions rather than longer commitments.

This lag in recruitment reflected in pay growth as well. Salaries of newly placed employees, both permanent & temporary, rose at the weakest rate for years.

2. ‘Key’ Industries record higher vacancies.

Again, probably no surprise. Health & Social Care demand is increasing and recruiters in logistics, food supply and blue collar industries are reporting a hiring increase of nearly 10% compared to the same period last year.

IT & technology, and to a limited extent furniture suppliers, have had a very large boost in the last few weeks as they support the shift to home working.

3. Large gap across sectors.

While healthcare, supermarkets and logistics have seen a boost in recruitment, sales & customer service jobs have fallen the fastest. Hiring rates in travel, leisure and entertainment have naturally fallen sharply also due to the closing of almost all of their locations.

4. Different regions see different effects

The lockdown has had a tough effect on manufacturing and heavy industry, therefore areas with more of those businesses have seen the effects. Scotland & Northern Ireland have seen a bigger fall in hiring than London and the south east of England which has a larger proportion of professional services, making home working easier, and as a knock on effect, supporting industries in these regions have been buoyed as a result.

So, knowing the trends is one thing. What can you ,as an industry leader, do today? Now is the time to:

Review your plans – once the lockdown is over, what can you put in place now to make sure that your organisation is the first to hit the ground running?
Put in the groundwork – If you anticipate that you’ll need to hire to put your business in the strongest position, identify who you want now instead of waiting. 95% of the recruitment process can be done virtually.

Ask for help. Not sure if you’re making the right moves in the circumstances? Ask! So many industry experts are quieter than usual now and more than happy to offer advice on LinkedIn or other social platforms

Offer help! Become one of these industry experts. Now is a great time to continue to market your business. Be a leader now and you will be remembered when this is over.

Stay safe – Don’t risk it.

If you can work from home, please do. If we all do our piece, then we’ll all be back to normal sooner.
So now that you know what’s going on across the board, I hope that makes you feel a little better about your own situation in business. We’re not alone in all this. Everyone is facing common challenges, so the more we can help each other out, the stronger we’ll be.

Finally, and once again, a huge thank you to all the NHS and key workers – many of whom are our clients, partner companies, family and friends.

Stay safe!

Darren, Graham and the team at Planet