A quarter of British adults would like to change their job more than anything else, research has revealed.

More than half (55 per cent) of the 3,000 employees asked wished they could do something completely different in life.

Given the chance to alter one thing, 25 per cent of adults would choose a new job above anything else.

Desire for a new house came second with 19 per cent of the vote, while 16 per cent of respondents wanted to take a step further and move to another country. The inclination to emigrate grows stronger with age, the research said, with 14 per cent of 18- to 24-year-olds selecting this as their primary goal, rising to 21 per cent for the 55-plus age group.

Just a small amount (12 per cent) of adults described themselves as “perfectly happy”, with slightly more women reporting overall satisfaction than men, according to research conducted by distance learning provider Home Learning College.

“Some things in life are beyond our control, while other ambitions are very much within reach,” said Dave Snow, academic director of Home Learning College.

“People’s ability to change job is dependent on a range of factors such as experience, qualifications and overall personality.

“If you’re feeling trapped in your current role then you should consider what positive changes can be made to enhance your employability. That might mean gaining new skills through vocational study or volunteering in an area related to your preferred type of work.”

source: People Management Online

An economic report compiled by manufacturer’s organisation EEF and accountancy services firm BDO has stated that with the exception of wood and textiles, the manufacturing sector grew by 1.4 per cent in the first quarter of the year and 1.6 per cent in the second.

However, the report is quick to point out that the positive trends will have to contribute for some time to reverse the decline during the recession. Manufacturing output remains more than 10 per cent below its pre-recession peak.

Lee Hopley, chief economist for EEF, said growth could continue throughout the rest of the year if net trade picks up, as it has yet to make a positive contribution. On the other hand, she said, manufacturing exports have been adding to growth and have risen faster in the first half of the year than what was previously expected.

According to EEF’s latest Business Trends survey, export orders turned positive at the beginning of 2010 and a positive balance of 23 per cent of companies saw an increase in export sales in the second quarter of the year – the highest ever recorded balance.

The increase in exports has likely been boosted by weaker sterling and a recovery in global demand.

EEF and BDO highlight a degree of caution among manufacturers about the strength of the recovery, warning that while order books may be starting to fill up, anecdotal evidence suggests that volumes are relatively low. In addition, credit conditions also remain largely unchanged from the beginning of the year and problems with access and cost of finance could constrain some manufacturers.

Hopley said manufacturing output will likely ease through the second half of the year and remain stable throughout 2011.

‘I don’t think you’re necessarily going to see more quarters of growth at that second-quarter magnitude,’ she said. ‘If you look historically at coming out of previous recessions in the 1980s and 90s you do see a very uneven quarterly growth profile. You’ve got good growth one quarter and it slips back a bit for another. It’s not to say our central forecast is a double dip. That’s an unlikely prospect, but this uneven growth is not unusual coming out of recession of the depth we just had.’

SME output

When focused specifically on small and medium-sized manufacturers, the findings remain largely the same as the entire sector.

Of the 403 small and medium-sized manufacturers that responded to the quarterly SME Trends Survey conducted by the business group CBI, 41 per cent said output rose in the three months to July, while 20 per cent said it fell. The resulting balance of positive 21 per cent growth is the fastest since April 1995, according to the CBI, and a three per cent improvement on the previous quarter.

The survey found the rise in output was driven by strengthening demand at home and abroad. Approximately 37 per cent of firms saw the volume of total new orders increase during the quarter, while 24 per cent saw a decline, giving a positive balance of 13 per cent. The CBI says this is the fastest growth since July 1995.

Additionally, exports had a particularly strong showing, according to the CBI survey, with a positive balance of 22 per cent of firms reporting a rise in the volume of overseas orders, the fastest growth since April 1995. Meanwhile, domestic orders saw a more modest six per cent growth.

Looking ahead to the next three months, the CBI survey indicated that smaller and medium-sized firms anticipate a slight fall in output, around five per cent, as the trends in domestic and export orders are expected to weaken, by a balance of negative five and three per cent respectively. As a result, total orders are also expected to fall by four per cent.

Source: www.theengineer.co.uk 4^th August 2010

Statistics released yesterday showed the number of Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants in the county fell by 1,244 – 5.5 per cent – to 21,125 last month.It was the biggest recorded monthly fall in almost three years.

The decline compared with the 1.4 per cent drop in the number of claimants nationally in June, to 1.46 million.

Experts said it showed the county was doing better to fight its way out of the recession than the rest of the UK. They were confident the positive trend would continue.

Hundreds of small firms in Leicestershire are believed to be looking to create jobs over the next few months.

Business leaders hoped the employment boost would help offset the hundreds of public sector redundancies expected as a result of spending cuts by the Government.

Martin Traynor, managing director of Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce, said: “Last month’s fall in the claimant count is excellent news.

“It concurs with the findings of our quarterly economic survey, which said both manufacturers and service sector firms were looking to recruit.

“Hundreds of small firms are looking to take on new staff over the next few months.

“The fact we are outperforming the rest of the country highlights how robust the county is.”

Desford construction equipment Caterpillar has announced it is taking on 300 staff, while low-cost airline Jet2.com is recruiting for a further 150 posts at East Midlands Airport.

Other firms creating jobs include aerospace parts maker AVi, of Oadby, and Leicester insurance company Brett & Randall.

It was revealed yesterday that 1,500 NHS managers and administrative staff in Leicestershire could lose their jobs in a shake-up of health services.

More than 1,000 job cuts are also expected to be made by the city and county councils.

However, Mr Traynor said public sector job losses should not have as big an impact on the county’s economy as they would in other areas.

He said: “Because of the consultation and notice periods, I don’t think we’ll see the full impact of public sector redundancies until after Christmas, by which time more private sector jobs will have been created.”

David Hughes, chief executive of Prospect Leicestershire, the agency charged with helping create jobs in the county, said he was talking to many businesses that were looking to expand after an upturn in demand.

He said: “From the conversations I’m having with small and medium-sized businesses in Leicestershire, there are companies which want to go to that next level by expanding and creating jobs.”

Professor Eric Pentecost, economics lecturer at Loughborough University, said: “The large entrepreneurial culture and diverse economy in Leicestershire certainly helps its jobs market.”

Source: This is Business – East Midlands Online, Thursday, July 15, 2010

The Index posted a reading of 57.5 in June, down from 58 in May.

The domestic market held up well in June, but growth in new exports fell sharply.

Rob Dobson, senior economist at Markit and author of the UK Manufacturing PMI, says: “June PMI data signal that growth of UK manufacturing production in the second quarter of 2010 was sustained at an average pace close to the 1.2% first quarter gain reported by the official figures.

“The rate at which the sector has been recouping the output lost during the recession has been nothing short of remarkable, with around one third having been recovered by the end of June. The manufacturing labour market appears to be moving more firmly into recovery position, with June seeing jobs added at the fastest pace since 1995.”

Source: The Recruiter, 1st July 2010

Mr Cameron has already promised to cut red tape and lower business taxes but he said his new Regional Growth Fund would “kick-start” enterprise in the city.

He said Leicester had been reliant on public sector jobs and he would encourage the creation of more private sector employment opportunities. In an article written exclusively for the Leicester Mercury, he said: “There’s no rule that says our recovery will have to be powered by one part of the country alone.

“Just look at the success of firms such as Carlton Laser Services which has turned its business around, or Caterpillar, which has just created 300 jobs. I want to encourage much more of that. To do it, we have to support business, enterprise and entrepreneurs – in particular in those places like Leicester that are so dependent on the public sector.”

Desford construction equipment manufacturer Caterpillar recently announced it was creating 300 jobs over the next six months.

It is expanding its workforce by about a third after a surge of orders.

Meanwhile, Carlton Laser Services, of Hamilton, Leicester, is spending £750,000 on hi-tech equipment as it prepares for an increase in orders.

The firm makes electronic enclosures or “cabinets” for factory machines.

Under the Regional Growth Fund, business people and community leaders are being invited to team up and create proposals for projects which aim to generate private sector jobs in their areas.

If ministers think the projects will be successful, they will offer public money to help implement them.

Jaffer Kapasi, who runs accountancy firm Kapasi & Co in the city, said: “This will work if the money is targeted at small and medium-sized business with the scope to grow, and young entrepreneurs who will be the business leaders of tomorrow.”

Keith Vaz, the Labour MP for Leicester East, said the new Regional Growth Fund would only work if the coalition made sure the money got to where it did the most good.

He said: “At the end of the day, what matters is the delivery of services. I’m interested in whether resources get to enterprises that benefit.”

He said he did not agree with Mr Cameron’s statement that Leicester was reliant on public sector jobs.

He said: “I don’t think that is true. “We have a lot of small businesses here in Leicester and if Mr Cameron wants to help them he shouldn’t increase VAT to 20%.”

Source: Leicester Mercury, 29th June 2010

The rate of jobs growth was only slightly below April’s three-year high, while the headline seasonally adjusted Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) was steady at 58.0, in line with April’s fifteen-and-a-half year high, consistent with a marked rate of expansion.

David Noble, chief executive at the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply, says: “The strength of recovery of the UK manufacturing sector has taken everyone by surprise – this time last year, the industry was on its knees. While the turnaround so far this year is obviously good news, we can’t forget this has been driven in large part by the weak sterling exchange rate bolstering export demand. Problems in countries such as Greece and Spain have strengthened the pound against the Euro recently and could also have a severe impact on the Eurozone economy. Given the euro countries are Britain’s biggest trading partners, any double-dip recession there would undoubtedly damage the UK manufacturing sector.”

Source: The Recruiter, June 1st 2010

According to the February/March survey, employers in professional  services and banking, finance & insurance (2%) are least likely to be operating a freeze on hiring.  Retailers (13%) and construction companies (10%) are most likely to have a freeze in place.

The survey shows that employers are more positive about their hiring intentions, with 28% saying they expect to increase their hiring.

However, most companies are carrying out selective hiring. Only 5% say they plan to do more hiring right across the organisation.

Commenting on the survey, Albert Ellis chief executive of Harvey Nash says that employers are “playing catch up”.  “We have seen a surprising increase in permanent recruitment”, says Ellis, adding that this has quickly created skill shortages in some areas.

Ellis said that a big driver of increased hiring was the pace of technological change with companies under pressure to get to grips with technology.

Employers were particularly looking to hire people to work on smart phone, online and digital technologies.

Source: The Recruiter, May 2010

John takes 3rd place with Will in 2nd and Phil in 1st position.

Precision’s consultants battled it out on the go-karting track recently. They went head to head completing ten circuits each to see which consultant could achieve the best possible lap time.

Out of the seven consultants who took part, Technical consultant Will came third, John came second and Director Phil Walker came first.

Wednesday’s official data adds fuel to Britain’s closest-run election race in decades, with the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats seizing on the rise in the jobless rate to slate the Labour’s record ahead of the May 6 poll.

The Office for National Statistics said the number of people claiming jobless benefit fell by 32,900 in March, far more than forecasts for a 10,000 fall. The ONS also revised up February’s fall to 40,100 from 32,300, making it the sharpest drop since June 1997.

However, the number of people without a job on the wider ILO measure — which additionally includes jobseekers who are not claiming benefits — rose by 43,000 to 2.502 million in the three months to February, the highest since the last three months of 1994.

That took the jobless rate up to 8.0 percent, the highest since 1996 and above forecasts for a steady reading of 7.8 percent.

The divergence in the figures posed a puzzle to economists trying to figure out whether Britain’s economy will continue to recover from its deepest recession in decades.

GDP figures on Friday are expected to show the economy grew 0.4 percent in the first three months of this year, matching growth in the final three months of 2009.

Investors seemed encouraged by the data, propelling the pound to a two-month high against the euro.

Combined with survey evidence suggesting firms are hiring more staff, analysts said the jobless claims figures suggested the labour market was returning to a more stable footing.

“The labour market has stabilised in our view,” said Amit Kara, economist at UBS. “Although unemployment on the (ILO) Labour Force Survey measure has risen, the more forward-looking indicators that include the claimant count data and the surveys suggest that employment prospects have improved.”

The government also gave a cautious welcome to the figures, but stressed the need to keep support measures in place until recovery is assured.

JOBLESS PUZZLE

Despite the fact that Britain suffered its deepest downturn in its post-war history in the 18 months to September 2009, unemployment has risen less sharply than in previous recessions.

“The labour market is in far better shape than we dared to hope for at this stage of the economic cycle,” said Brian Hilliard at Societe Generale.

Many economists have attributed this to workers being willing to accept lower pay and shorter working hours to safeguard their jobs.

The ONS figures showed headline wage growth picked up in February, although that was largely due to base effects from a fall in bonus payments last year.

Average weekly earnings including bonuses rose by 2.3 percent in the three months to February from 0.8 percent in the three months to January, slightly below expectations for a rise to 2.5 percent.

Excluding bonuses, wages rose by just 1.7 percent in the three months to February — well below inflation, which is currently running above 3 percent.

But other aspects of Wednesday’s data make for more worrying reading. On the ILO measure the number of people out of work for more than a year rose to 726,000, the highest since Labour came to power in 1997.

And the number of people defined as ‘economically inactive’ — those who are neither working nor looking for a job — rose to a record high of 8.16 million, although more than 2 million of those were students.

Some analysts urged caution in interpreting the ILO jobless figures, which are based on a monthly survey some types of jobseekers who are ineligible for unemployment benefits, such as those who are also students.

“In the past, quarterly movements in the ILO series have been a little bit unreliable, so we’d be hesitant to use them as gospel,” said Philip Shaw, economist at Investec.

“Perhaps it’s a little safer to conclude there are some signs of stabilisation in the labour market.”

Source: Reuters UK, 21st April 2010

A heartening 96 per cent of employers surveyed stated they now expect their permanent workforces to remain static or grow within the next three months – a rise of two per cent on the previous month.
A total of 86 per cent expect their use of agency workers to grow or stay the same within the same period.

The longer term outlook is also encouraging with 94 per cent of employers expecting to maintain or grow their permanent workforce over the next 12 months.

Roger Tweedy, the REC’s director of research, pictured, said: “This is the most encouraging sign we have had so far that the jobs market is now gathering momentum led by a higher demand for temporary workers. Following last month’s slight dip in employer confidence businesses are forging ahead with plans to stabilise or expand their workforces. This fits with the feedback from professional recruiters on the ground, who are reporting increased hiring activity in most sectors.

“Looking ahead, public sector cuts could act as a counterweight to the improving jobs outlook in the private sector. Post-election, the debate will need to focus on new ways of delivering public services rather than on short-term cuts, and this is one of the main thrusts of our current public sector resourcing campaign.”

Source: Recruitment Consultant, 21st April 2010