Four in 10 UK employers are planning to recruit more staff in the next quarter, according to a survey.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and consultancy KPMG’s latest Labour Market Outlook report shows London and the East Midlands as the most buoyant areas with 49% of employers looking to recruit.
Recruitment intentions across the UK have improved slightly since last year, with 42% of organisations planning to recruit in the next three months, compared with 35% in autumn 2005.
But employment prospects in the North East look bleak, with one in three companies planning to make redundancies in the next quarter.
Michael Carter, people services partner at KPMG, said: “The survey findings show that, while recruitment intentions have improved since last year – especially in London and the South – this trend is not repeated across the country.
“Some areas, particularly the North and the West Midlands, are experiencing more recruitment pessimism.”