• A third of senior directors in the South West and Wales will create new jobs in the next six months
• Only 3% of organisations anticipate employee redundancies, down from 10%
• Nine in 10 executives are challenged in hiring the requisite talent
• More than a third (35%) of firms in the South West and Wales are increasing salaries

Bristol, 10 July 2013 – A third (32%) of directors in the South West and Wales anticipate the creation of new, permanent roles in the second half of the year, up 12 points from 20% six months ago, finds the latest Robert Half Professional Hiring Index (the ‘Index’). Half (52%) anticipate maintaining headcount levels by filling vacated positions when they arise.

Across the UK, one in three (33%) directors plan to increase their permanent headcount, up nine points from 24% six months ago.  Fifty-six per cent will replace vacating staff, thereby maintaining levels, up six per cent from 50% in January. Only 2% plan to reduce headcount before the end of the year.

UK Directors were asked, “What are your company's hiring plans for permanent professionals in the second half of 2013?” Their responses: 

	North and Scotland		Midlands		London and South East		South West and Wales
	Jan-June	July-Dec	Jan-June	July-Dec	Jan-June	July-Dec	Jan-June	July-Dec
Expanding – adding new positions	22%	28%	24%	40%	28%	32%	20%	32%
Maintaining – only filling vacated positions	59%	60%	51%	55%	43%	56%	52%	52%
Freezing – not filling vacated positions and not creating new ones	11%	10%	20%	3%	19%	11%	17%	13%
Reducing – eliminating positions	8%	1%	5%	2%	11%	2%	10%	3%

More than nine in 10 (92%) UK directors cite recruitment challenges and while the ability to find skilled professionals is uniform across the regions, the proportion of directors reporting that it is ‘very challenging’ to identify the right people is slightly higher in London and the South East (31%) than in the Midlands and in the South West and Wales (both 30%) and the North and Scotland (21%).

Additional hiring in the South West and Wales is the result of several factors with the majority (59%) citing business growth or expansion when senior directors were asked their top three reasons for increasing headcount. This was followed by new projects and initiatives (53%) and new market penetration (47%).

Optimism in the business climate is on the rise, with seven in 10 (72%) UK directors expressing confidence in the UK’s domestic growth prospects, up eight points  from the beginning of the year. Directors in the South West and Wales are also optimistic, with seven in 10 (70%) expressing confidence in the UK’s growth prospects in the coming 12 months, up from 62% in January. This is tied with executive optimism in the Midlands although lags slightly behind the 78% of London directors with a positive outlook.

Looking at their own company’s projections, more than eight in 10 (84%) UK directors are confident – up from 77% in January – suggesting a firm’s own combination of strategies, leadership and procedures can offset other macroeconomic factors. Directors in the South West and Wales are also optimistic with 79% executives expressing optimism. This compares to 82% in the North and Scotland and 86% in the Midlands, London and South East.

Phil Sheridan, Managing Director UK, Robert Half said: “The employment market for professional occupations continues to gain momentum with companies hiring to fill vacated roles while also creating new ones. Hiring in the South West and Wales is performing well and executives are optimistic about the remainder of 2013. Many companies that may have put new initiatives or expansion plans on the backburner are again taking advantage of the stronger business outlook and are hiring permanent staff to handle key growth initiatives.”

“As the job market improves, companies are finding that the pool of highly skilled talent is shrinking and the large majority is citing challenges sourcing the requisite talent and keeping them on board. While remuneration continues to be an attractive incentive, companies should also look at other valued benefits such as flexible working, tuition reimbursement and initiatives to improve work-life balance. Many companies are adopting flexible benefits packages to tailor perks to individual preferences.”

Profession specific findings – national statistics

Accounting and finance hiring

Finance and accounting recruitment continues to outpace the average with one in three (34%) CFOs planning to expand their permanent headcount, up from 28% in the first half of the year. More than half (55%) will be maintaining levels and only 2% anticipate employee reductions before the end of the year. Nearly nine in 10 (87%) find it challenging to find skilled financial professionals today with the most challenging areas including accounting, business / financial analysis, financial management / control and compliance. As a result, nearly eight in 10 (79%) are concerned about losing key staff.

Financial services hiring

The financial services sector will lead the way in job growth ahead of other professional occupations finds the Index. Nearly four in 10 (39%) executives anticipate staff augmentations, up eight points from 31% six months ago. The areas of demand include accounting and finance (72%), operational support (69%), risk (33%), revenue-generating (31%) and compliance (23%). Nearly all (99%) express challenges in finding skilled professionals, indicating that talent shortages exist despite media reports about the sector and it is therefore not surprising that 95% are concerned about retaining their top performers. In order to entice existing employees to stay, nearly half (46%) will be increasing salaries and one in four (25%) will increase bonuses.

Hiring for other professional occupations

Job creation across other professional occupations is also trending upwards with nearly three in 10 (29%) anticipating additional hiring, up from 22% six months ago. Nearly six in 10 (59%) directors expect to maintain current levels by backfilling vacated roles and only 3% plan to reduce headcount. Recruitment challenges persist with nine in 10 (93%) expressing difficulty sourcing the requisite talent and 84% are concerned about losing key staff. More than three in 10 (34%) plan to increase salaries and one in five (19%) will be raising bonuses.

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Notes to editors

About the Survey

 The bi-annual Robert Half Professional Hiring Index was developed by Robert Half UK and is conducted by an independent research firm.  The study is based on more than 600 interviews with senior executives from companies across the UK, in areas of HR, financial services, finance and accounting with the results segmented by size, sector and geographic location.  The survey was conducted in June 2013.