The Covid-19 pandemic has no doubt impacted the labour market over the past year.
According to the Office for National Statistics, the number of payroll employees has increased for the fifth consecutive month but remains 772,000 below pre-pandemic levels. The Job Retention Scheme continues to help reduce unemployment across all sectors and industries, helping to provide security for businesses as they are recovering from the effects of the pandemic.
According to the Chambers latest Quarterly Economic survey for (Q2 2021), 51% of businesses have attempted to recruit in Q2 compared to 38% in Q1. Half of businesses reported they would try and recruit over the next three months, which represents how resilient the local employment market is across both regions, despite the challenges of Covid-19.
As we continue on the roadmap to recovery, many businesses will be preparing to readdress their HR policies and look at different options when it comes to office working vs working from home. It is important for those to understand what other businesses currently have planned and how they look to balance their offering to attract skilled workers.
Working in partnership with Hewett Recruitment, the Chamber of Commerce will once again produce the annual Salary & Benefits 2021/22 report. This report will benchmark the salaries and the benefits that companies offer across the two counties in order to support businesses attracting and retaining staff. The report will include the minimum, maximum and average salaries of a variety of roles across the two counties. At a time when provisions for flexible working and annual leave allowance are as important to candidates as salaries, it has never been more crucial to compare the salary and benefits your business offers.
The report will be released after a period of data collection, by taking part in the survey you will have access to the exclusive report for free later in the year. To complete the survey and reserve your copy please visit here: www.surveymonkey.com/r/SalaryBenefits2021.