From data to dating: the week in recruitment

Jo Faragher

A big week for jobs statistics, and for the most part, the picture is beginning to look more positive. The REC’s Report on Jobs showed growth in permanent placements to be at its fastest for six months in May, while recruitment software company Broadbean echoed these findings, with its data showing permanent vacancies rising 2% in April.

Finally, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that UK unemployment has fallen by an unexpected 5,000 in the three months to April, although the jobless rate was unchanged, at 7.8%. While these growth figures may be slight – and employment itself remains somewhat flat – as REC chief executive Kevin Green points out, optimism makes all the difference: “Recruiters tell us that employers are more optimistic and are planning to increase their temporary and permanent hiring,” he said.

Another interesting statistic from the ONS this week revealed that the number of workers in Britain aged over 65 has risen above 1 million for the first time, as firms increasingly prefer older employees to younger staff. Since the abolition of the default retirement age in 2011, this has opened up a whole new field of potential candidates to recruiters and their clients – providing recruiters focus on competencies and valuable experience, our ‘greying’ workforce has a lot to offer.

Someone who hasn’t had a great week is recruitment entrepreneur James Caan, who is in the process of being sued by two executives of one of his companies. This comes after the fanfare of the Government’s Opening Doors social mobility drive last week – a scheme on which he is advising on fair access to employment, despite claims he has helped his own children find work in his businesses.

With technology developing so fast in the recruitment sphere, over the past few years agencies have had to get used to threats not only from online job boards, but also social media sites including Twitter and LinkedIn. But competition could soon come from an unexpected corner, with recent news that US internet dating site Eharmony has decided to get in on recruitment. The company hopes to use methods similar to how it pairs compatible customers for romantic relationships, to match candidates with jobs.

The service is not due to launch until next year, but it will be interesting to see if it’s a development that will make it across the Atlantic to the UK, and how it will be received by jobseekers and employers alike.

Might we also see a change in how job adverts are posted? Might we start seeing “Mature manufacturing company seeks graduate with good sense of humour for short-term contract, possibly more”?

Let us know what you think at editorial@recruitmentagencynow.com