Warning of divided Britain as jobs gloom returns

The national employment outlook has slipped for the first time in almost three years as recent setbacks hit the finance and business services sectors, according to research published today from recruitment firm Manpower.

Furthermore the findings reveal when it comes to hiring intentions the UK is being sliced in half by a line running from East Yorkshire to the Bristol Channel – north of the line, businesses are not hiring, but to the south firms were broadly positive about taking on staff.

Labour seized on the news as further evidence the Government’s economic plans are failing, but the Government claimed it always said the recovery “would be choppy”.

Dan Jarvis, the MP for Barnsley Central and chairman of Labour’s backbench business committee, said: “Today’s news is nothing that people in Barnsley and Yorkshire were not already aware of. What Yorkshire needs is a more targeted and focused investment to ensure that we can compete nationally and indeed globally.

“The UK’s economy will not recover from growth in the South- East alone. It will take a national effort to ensure Britain recovers. Therefore the Government must show some leadership and ensure that jobs and businesses across the UK start to grow.”

The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey of 2,100 UK employers says a recovery in employment in recent months has “stalled” even though the outlook remains moderately positive.

In Yorkshire, there was a small improvement in employer confidence of four per cent, but concerns remain that tougher times are ahead. The region is one of only four in the UK this quarter to see such an increase, and the only one in the North of England.

Manpower managing director Mark Cahill said: “Six months ago it looked like the banks were going to lead the way out of recession and could even have filled the hole created by the slowdown in the public sector. The finance sector was hiring like nobody’s business, it was consistently the most optimistic sector post-recession, but this has now fallen away quite dramatically over the summer.

“We’ve seen almost 50,000 jobs go in banking. Make no mistake, there are still jobs to be had in areas like retail banking, but in other areas of banking there has been a real pullback and this is having an impact on the jobs market as a whole.”

Utilities was the most positive sector, as employers in the water, gas and electricity industries reported strong hiring intentions. Manpower’s operations manager for Yorkshire, Amanda White, claimed the high bills which householders and businesses were facing were helping to invest in new jobs in the region.

The research adds further weight to the Yorkshire Post Fair Deal for Yorkshire campaign which is fighting for a fairer share of public spending. Last month a quarterly survey of the Labour market from accountants KPMG and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) revealed the employment balance, which measures the difference between employers that intend to increase staff and those intending to cut staff, showed a 10 per cent growth in the South, but a six per cent drop in the North.

A Department for Work and Pensions spokeswoman said: “We always said that the recovery would be choppy. We do not underestimate the scale of the challenge that we face to help people into employment. The Government is committed to support the economy and encourage businesses to invest and create jobs.”

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