Job prospects worst for 15 years

The outlook for jobs is the gloomiest for 15 years with firms continuing to cut back on their recruitment plans because of fears for the economy, a new report reveals today.

But while other regions are suffering, companies in the West Midlands is described as being "cautiously optimistic". A widespread slump in confidence has been particularly acute in finance and business services companies, hardest hit by the worldwide credit crunch, with a "marked decrease" in hiring, according to recruitment company Manpower.

A survey of 2,200 employers nationwide showed that almost nine out of 10 had no plans to take on new staff, just nine per cent expected to recruit and three per cent intended to make redundancies.

Mark Cahill, managing director of Manpower said confidence among employers had weakened to its lowest point in 15 years.

He said: "Concerns about the strength and performance of the UK economy, coupled with recent worries about the stock market and consumer confidence, is having an impact – in particular in the finance and business services sector."

The gloom was deepest in the North West, East Midlands and South West.

In the West Midlands, however, the report found employers were "cautiously optimistic".

Greg Hollis, Manpower's operations manager for the West Midlands, said: "Business confidence is encouraging in the West Midlands, with employers planning to take on more workers next quarter.

"Public sector recruitment is healthy with an increasing demand for skilled and unskilled labour. In particular we are experiencing a spike in demand for NHS workers."

The big jobs growth hotspots were Coventry and Birmingham, he said.

At the Black Country Chamber of Commerce, president Peter Mathews was positively bullish. He said: "We are not getting any strong indication of a fear for jobs in our area – that seems more concentrated on the financial sector. Manufacturing appears more resilient and metals is red hot at the moment."