UK firms' hiring intentions steady

Hiring intentions for the next 3 months by British cos remained roughly steady compared with the last quarter.

Hiring intentions for the next three months by British companies remained roughly steady compared with the last quarter, a survey showed on Tuesday, suggesting demand for labour remains relatively robust.

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Global employment company Manpower surveyed 2,100 firms and reported that 19 per cent expected to add to their staff in the next three months, three-quarters expected no change and only six percent expected to cut jobs.

That left a balance of +13 compared with +9 three months ago and +15 one year ago. In seasonally-adjusted terms, it was roughly steady at +11 compared with +13 reported in December.

"The uplift in hiring intentions we saw at the start of the year is continuing across all business sectors and almost all regions," said Mark Cahill, managing director at Manpower UK.

"Confidence from the City and demand for workers is strong -- high bonuses and the bullishness of the stock market are fuelling this positive atmosphere," he said.

Finance and business companies were the most optimistic on hiring with more than a quarter of them expecting to add to their payrolls.

That optimism has coincided with a flurry of mergers and acquisitions business and the FTSE-100 index of leading shares climbing to a five-year high.

Utility companies were also upbeat on hiring as were manufacturers, despite years of net job losses while the sector's share of the overall economy has shrunk to less than one-fifth and services have expanded rapidly. Eighteen per cent of manufacturers expected to take on staff the second quarter, roughly stable compared with the survey three months ago and slightly above year-ago levels. Those results are in line with other business surveys.

"The results from the manufacturing sector are encouraging, and reflect wider reports of improved exports and increased investment within the sector," said Cahill.