Employment and Pay: This Year’s Predictions

Each year the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) releases a document making predictions about the year’s labour market. This gives us great insight into the year ahead and can be a useful tool for businesses writing an expansion strategy as well as for individuals looking for work or contemplating career moves.

The bulk of the document is concerned with the growth of the economy. Economic growth of around 2.4% is expected in 2015, with employment growing by around 500,000. Wage growth is set to remain in the low 1-2% range, however low rates of inflation mean that earnings might increase in real terms. After 2015 there’s a far greater chance of wage growth but it’s far from guaranteed.

For businesses this is a good time to hire. Vacancies are, generally speaking, attracting suitable applicants and there is little pressure on upwards pay, making the first half of this year a good time to recruit.

However the CIPD document does speculate that a skills shortage is upcoming, meaning that hiring could potentially get trickier or more expensive in the future. This means that it’s important to move quickly if you’re planning to grow your business during 2015.

First Base Employment can help you navigate the recruitment process quickly and efficiently, with as little hassle as possible, ensuring that you get the best possible candidates for your vacancies. We specialise in senior management roles as well as having a wealth of experience filling permanent and temporary vacancies in a range of industries including legal, financial, aerospace, energy and engineering. For more information email info@first-base.co.uk.