Recruitment

Small companies to begin recruitment drives

UK small businesses are looking to grow their workforce through the remainder of 2013, a new survey by global workforce provider Regus has indicated.

A quarter of firms surveyed plan to increase their headcount by 5% or more, whilst 20% are looking to expand their numbers by between 2-5%.

Businesses are increasingly looking to expand their new business functions. More than half suggested that their recruitment drive will focus on sales and marketing staff, implying that growth is high on the agenda for the rest of the year.

Autumn Statement - SBF’s Summary

Chancellor George Osborne unveiled his much-anticipated Autumn Statement yesterday, causing the usual clambering amongst MPs and political parties for position.

Here at Skipton Business Finance, we’ve cut it down to the bare bones and analysed the key points that will affect small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs).

See our analysis of the Autumn Statement below:

Fuel Duty

One of the highlights of the Autumn Statement for SMEs across all sectors was the cancellation of the 3p-a-litre increase in fuel duty, which was set to be implemented in January.

UK job market reaching crucial phase

Employers across the UK are looking to hold onto more staff to avoid losing skills despite low levels of demand and output, new research has revealed.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s (CIPD) Labour Market Outlook indicated that more than a third of private sector firms have kept staffing levels higher than required for the current level of output, with a desire to maintain the skills base provided by staff.

There were also fewer firms planning on make redundancies in Q3 of 2012, compared to three months ago.

Late payment culture continues to threaten SMEs

Approximately one in six companies have almost gone out of business due to cashflow difficulties caused by debtors paying late, new research by credit agency Graydon and the Forum of Private Business (FPB) has revealed.

The survey of 500 small business owners found that more than half (51%) of respondents said late payments were affecting their ability to trade efficiently, whilst almost a quarter (23%) said late payments were a ‘serious problem’.

More job vacancies emerging, says Reed

The UK’s labour market has seen a rise in the number of job vacancies so far in 2012, according to the Reed Job Index.

A survey by the recruitment giant of over 10,000 companies revealed there was a 6% increase in vacancies between Q4 2011 and Q1 2012.

37 industry sectors were analysed, with engineering reaching its highest mark for employment demand since the Index began in December 2009. Other notable increases in demand were recorded across IT, construction, motoring and purchasing.

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