Confidence in jobs falls further in the UK: Monster’s Confidence Index

A clear drop in confidence in the UK labor market and job seekers has been registered, according to the Monster’s Confidence Index. The Centre for Economics and Business Research along with Monster UK has recorded the lowest confidence index since 2014 and is now at 61 percent. As compared to the previous quarter, the confidence level has dropped by 64 percent. 

A weakening labor market with the growth in the number of vacancies having slowed down to less than 14 percent as compared to the same time last year, has resulted in loss of confidence among the job seekers, according to the data from the Office for National Statistics. The UK’s volatile political scenario has had a major impact on reducing the confidence in jobs. 

More than 35 percent of UK workers believe that the recent political landscape at the backdrop of Brexit has made them less confident about their existing and future employment prospects. Even though the confidence in the employment prospects has gone down, real wages have increased by 1.8 percent since the same duration last year. The real wage growth has been the highest since 2016. There has also been a 0.6 percent decrease in the number of workers who reported that they have no regular pay in the last three months. 

Recent school graduates who are about to enter the workforce for the first times are the ones who feel less pessimistic about the country’s political climate as compared to their more experienced counterparts. 

“Ongoing political and economic uncertainty means workers across the country are, understandably, concerned about keeping their jobs and what the future holds for them,” said Derek Jenkins, Managing Director, Monster UK. 

As the younger generation continues to feel confident about the jobs’ scenario, employers can leverage this opportunity to enhance employee engagement and ensure that they have the kind of work that proves to be rewarding for both freshers and experienced employees in addition to being beneficial for the business.