Contract work and freelancing will benefit from increased confidence

According to the REC's latest JobsOutlook survey, 94% of employers say they will not decrease their permanent workforce this year and many of these actually intend to hire more staff. 25% of those surveyed also plan to increase their use of temporary and contract workers over the next 12 months.

Applicants with specific attributes such as communication and interpersonal skills should be able to shine as these qualities are highly sought after by employers.

Roger Tweedy from the REC believes that this increased confidence will boost recruitment over the next 12 months and whilst not all businesses are planning to extend their permanent workforce, the planned increased use of temporary labour is a positive sign.

However, the REC would still like to see the government change their current stance on increased taxation for businesses and new proposed employment regulations. Tweedy said we still have a long way to go to achieve full employment and if the squeeze on public expenditure continues this will cancel out the positive benefits that are coming from the private sector.

Specialist accountants are also going to be in demand. As the country begins to recover from the recession, Robert Half the financial recruitment specialists, believe that expert accountants with planning, analysis, compliance and risk management skills will be highly sought after.

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