Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Recruitment & retention

Impact of recession on recruitment and HR

by Personnel Today 25 Sep 2009
by Personnel Today 25 Sep 2009

HR appears to have escaped the recession relatively unscathed, despite the economic downturn’s dramatic impact on recruitment, according to a survey by Personnel Today‘s paid-for sister service XpertHR.


The survey of 105 employers – covering a combined workforce of almost 580,000 people – showed that three-quarters (74%) now had fewer vacancies, while around six in 10 (56%) had introduced recruitment freezes. However, the fall-out for HR professionals involved in recruitment has been surprisingly minimal, with only 8% losing their jobs.


The biggest impact of the recession on recruitment activity has been the reduced number of vacancies. And this in turn has led to a marked reduction in the use of employment agencies among almost six in 10 (57%) of those surveyed. Four in 10 (40%) have found alternatives to filling vacant posts with permanent recruits, such as temporary staff, outsourcing, and reallocating work internally.


The findings also showed that smaller employers had been more adversely affected by the recession’s impact on recruitment. For example, six in 10 (58%) small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) had imposed workforce-wide recruitment freezes, compared with four in 10 (36%) of the largest organisations surveyed. And freezes linked to redundancy exercises – where the ‘natural wastage’ of resignations and retirements can mitigate the need for compulsory redundancies – were far more common among SMEs (47%) than larger employers (7%).


This was also the case in terms of vacancy and recruitment expenditure cuts, with one-fifth of SMEs reducing vacancies by more than 90%, while none of the largest employers surveyed had to reduce their vacancy levels by this amount. And 30% of SMEs have had to cut their recruitment expenditure by more than 90%, while none of the largest organisations needed to take such drastic measures.


However, despite the gloomy outlook, an Acas policy discussion paper claims that large numbers of jobs are actually continuing to become available. It stated that an average of 10,000 new jobs are advertised each day by Jobcentre Plus alone, and that many more are available through other channels.

Avatar
Personnel Today

previous post
Employers call for formula to predict future minimum wage increase
next post
PCS and Unison join forces

You may also like

NHS should upskill admin staff to reduce waiting...

23 May 2022

City firms pledge to improve social mobility in...

20 May 2022

One in five employers planning ‘no jab no...

19 May 2022

Nurses leaving due to pressure and workplace culture

18 May 2022

Number of working people with disability up 1.3...

17 May 2022

Wages fall 1.2% behind inflation as cost of...

17 May 2022

Lack of flexibility pushes half of women to...

16 May 2022

EasyJet joins battle for cabin crew with £1,000...

16 May 2022

How to build a compelling talent attraction strategy...

12 May 2022

Only 5% of job ad wording fully gender...

9 May 2022
  • Apprenticeships are the solution to your recruitment problems PROMOTED | Apprenticeships have the pulling power...Read more
  • What it really means to be mentally fit PROMOTED | What is mental fitness...Read more
  • How music can help to ease anxiety at work PROMOTED | A lot has happened since March 2020, hasn’t it?...Read more
  • Why now is the time to plug the unhealthy gap PROMOTED | We’ve all heard the term ‘health is wealth’...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+