What’s the outlook for professional recruiters in the North of England?

All eyes were on Chancellor Jeremy Hunt on Wednesday 15 March as he stood at the despatch box to deliver his Spring Budget to the House of Commons. Before we analyse how the economic policies he announced will affect the North of England, it’s worth looking at what happened the day before when the ONS released its latest labour market data.

Both the North East and North West saw an increase in their employment rates of 0.6% and 0.9% respectively – easily outperforming the national average of a mere 0.1%. While this is good news, it is of concern that the North East has the joint lowest employment rate (71.8%) in the UK along with Northern Ireland. Compare this to the North West at 74.2% and the UK average at 75.7%. Overall though, based purely on ONS data it’s fair to say that things are on the up in the North.

Switching focus to the Spring Budget, what effects do we expect the Chancellor’s announcements to have on the region? Jeremy Hunt proposed UK “investment zones” could be a big boon for the North. Hunt likened them to “12 new Canary Wharfs” and are set to be created in Liverpool, Greater Manchester and the North East. It is hoped that these investment zones will play a “critical part” in the government’s “ambitious plan for growth and prosperity”. Recruiters particularly in STEM sectors should be looking towards these areas for increased opportunities.

Of course, it may well be a lengthy period of time before recruiters see the benefits of investment zones. Sadly (from a recruitment point of view) that’s proving to be the case with High Speed 2 (HS2). Despite the Government re-confirming its commitment to the project just a few weeks ago it has announced it will be delayed by another two years. APSCo expects hiring for Europe’s largest infrastructure project to fall as a result. However, given the current skills shortages other employers in the North should benefit from a likely increase in skilled labour.

More detailed data on hiring across the North will follow in the coming weeks and APSCo members will receive this data for free as part of their membership package. If you’re not a member and would like the opportunity to see the data, complete the form below.