Julius Probst is the European labour economist at Totaljobs. He did his M.Sc. in Economics with a specialisation in macroeconomics and his PhD in Economic History at Lund University in Sweden. During his PhD, he also worked as a researcher for the European Central Bank.
The UK economy is doing better than forecasters expected at the end of last year. The biggest short-term risks are sticky inflation and higher rates, which could negatively impact the housing market. However, consumer confidence and the business outlook have improved recently, even as recruitment challenges in the form of skills shortages remain.
While the UK’s economic performance has been lacklustre since 2020, the labour market has been quite tight. The pandemic and Brexit have led to a drop in the UK’s workforce, which is affecting all sectors of the economy. The Bank of England recently revised their long-run growth rate forecast down, citing the decline in the labour force as the main reason. The service sector is missing some 350,000 workers due to Brexit and economic inactivity has increased because of long-term health issues, early retirement, and a broken housing market.
No one wants to hear that they didn’t get the job. So how can you break the news to candidates in a professional, sincere and positive manner?
Watch our February Hiring Trends Coffee Briefing to unpack the latest recruitment trends. Plus, get expert recommendations to support your hiring strategy in an uncertain economic landscape.
Totaljobs’ Hiring Trends Index provides a quarterly view of the UK job market and the recruitment trends shaping it. In this edition, we look back at the final quarter of 2022 to understand how economic factors such as the cost of living are impacting UK businesses, workers, and jobseekers. Additionally, we draw on insights from HR decision-makers to predict the 2023 recruitment landscape.
Totaljobs has created a list of 12 of the most effective exit interview questions to ask staff who have handed in their notice. Our questions will give you the info you need to make business improvements and retain your staff in the long term.
Once you’ve interviewed the first round of candidates in the early stages of a recruitment process, the second round requires a very different approach. The aim of a second interview is to assess the candidate in more detail, get to know them a bit better, and can help recruiters confirm if the candidate is the right one for the role.
Join one of our free product webinars for insider tips, tricks and handy tidbits on how to use the full suite of Totaljobs products, and level up your search for candidates.
With diversity and the gender-pay gap a key focus of many UK organisations, we have conducted extensive research into how the language of a job ad could impact on diversity.
Using previous academic research from The University of Waterloo and Duke University which outlined a series of male and female gender-coded words, we analysed 76,929 job adverts over a six week period to assess the frequency of gender-coded words in UK recruitment.
By following our best practice guide you can increase the views, number of applications and relevancy of candidates that your job ad receives.
The exit interview process is a valuable tool for making business improvements and retaining staff. This article will outline the best practice for employers conducting exit interviews.
Below is your step-by-step guide to using the Totaljobs CV Database, a tool which lets you take control of your hiring by easily searching for candidates.
Filter searches by skillset and location, see candidates’ application history, contact the best suited, and set up alerts to find others who fit the brief.
To support sectors currently hiring, Totaljobs has analysed the most relevant transferable skills across industries that hiring businesses can look to utilise. By looking outside of your existing industry when hiring, businesses can benefit from new perspectives and approaches, as well as make the most of transferable skills.
Personal development plans are a useful tool for planning your employees’ career development. This article explains how to create a PDP for your staff and includes a template.
Below is your step-by-step guide to advertising a job on Totaljobs.
Before you get started, be sure that you have:
New research from Totaljobs looks at the perspectives of UK workers and jobseekers for 2023, in the face of a looming recession and spiralling living costs.
Gardening Leave can seem like a win-win situation. For employers, it’s a way of protecting the business when an employee hands in their notice. And for employees, it means they are paid without having to work. But it’s not without its complications, from costs to potential claims. So, here’s our guide on how to handle Gardening Leave without any thorny (legal) issues.
The key to a successful hire and better employee retention lies in the hiring stage. That’s why understanding candidate expectations is vital when shaping your recruitment process. Totaljobs’ latest internal survey of 2,057 jobseekers explores what makes a positive candidate experience through the eyes of real candidates.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s anticipated Spring Budget addressed some of the concerns regarding missing workers and outlined ways to decrease the number of the economically inactive. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR)’s economic forecasts have considerably changed compared to the forecasts back in November 2022. So, what changes can employers expect from the labour market?
Salary benchmarking is an important process that helps businesses stay competitive. However, analysing and comparing pay with the wider market can be time-intensive and complex. That’s why this guide lays out the key steps your business can take to ensure your pay keeps pace with the market – and can help win over the talent you need.
Hybrid working significantly impacts communication, productivity, and happiness. This way of working comes with pros, cons, and considerations that businesses should be mindful of so they can roll out a hybrid model that works for them.
Employment law is complex and fast-paced. It covers everything from the minimum wage to maternity leave, and it’s crucial that employers and HR understand the basics (as well as be able to access specialist advice, when needed). This is an at-a-glance overview of employment law, packed with relevant sources, and will quickly get you up to speed.
Gardening Leave can seem like a win-win situation. For employers, it’s a way of protecting the business when an employee hands in their notice. And for employees, it means they are paid without having to work. But it’s not without its complications, from costs to potential claims. So, here’s our guide on how to handle Gardening Leave without any thorny (legal) issues.
With the cost of living on the rise due to high record levels of inflation UK workers are feeling the squeeze on earnings In fact, 75% of UK workers say they are worried about their financial situation.
The latest ONS data release (14th February 2023) shows more people join the labour market due to the rising cost of living. There was a significant flow of people from ‘economically inactive’ to unemployed, largely driven by young people looking for work. The number of vacancies persists at over one million, meaning employers will not stop hiring all together anytime soon to ensure they don’t struggle with labour shortages down the line.
The dos and don’ts of data protection and privacy in recruitment. Use this article as a checklist to make sure your recruitment process complies with GDPR*.
Businesses are increasingly investing in diversity strategies in the workplace to create workforces that are more reflective of society, where individuality is respected and valued. This guide outlines what it means to have a diverse workforce, including the benefits, challenges, and recommended steps for how to get there.
Attracting the right candidates to any job vacancy is vital. You’ll often find more than one suitable candidate. Shortlisting helps to eliminate the risk of bias, saves time and resources, and leads you towards the best people for the role. It is an essential stage of the recruitment process and the natural precursor to the interview stage. Our guide is here to help make the shortlisting process as straightforward and understandable as possible.
Panel interviewing can give employers a broader and more balanced view of a candidate’s suitability for a role, while equally allowing candidates to meet key stakeholders and see the dynamics of a workplace up close. But panel interviews are not without their unique challenges. This complete guide walks you through what a panel interview is and when to use it, how to conduct this type of interview, who to have on your panel, the types of questions to ask – and much more.
The ONS data release (17th January 2023) shows the UK labour market cooling down as the number of vacancies fall for the sixth consecutive quarter to 1,161,000. This is still historically high, and businesses continue to hire as ONS reports 27,000 more jobs were created in the past three months.
February 11th is the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, and this year marks its eight year anniversary. On this day, it’s important to remember women’s achievements in science and understand how championing young girls in STEM careers can change the future. We asked Tech She Can’s co-CEOs Sheridan Ash MBE and Dr Claire Thorne about how they are elevating women and girls in the tech space.
According to the latest ONS data (13th December 2022), a decline in the number of ‘economically inactive’ is a sign that people are returning to work. Between August and October, over forty thousand 50 to 64 year olds rejoined the workforce. This shows that the rising cost of living continues to impact the decisions of jobseekers, employees and businesses.
Whether you’ve just started hiring people or you’re a recruiting pro; our free tips, advice and insight will help you adopt best practices and find the best people for the job.
Whether it’s insight and advice from an in-depth report, or a step-by-step Totaljobs user guide, here you can find the resources you need to make recruitment easier.
Improve your interviewing skills by learning the top questions to ask candidates, how to prepare for and conduct a great interview and how best to give interview feedback.
Read the latest employment figures, with an in-depth focus on the UK skills shortage and how government legislation and employment law could affect your recruitment.
What is human resources? HR is responsible for supporting employees with their mental and physical health and protecting all workers’ rights in the workplace. This covers everything from maternity and paternity leave to resolving workplace conflicts and disputes. In short, we offer tips to help you promote employee wellbeing and effectively manage a team.
Find out the best way to give feedback to unsuccessful candidates, offer someone a job, check references and negotiate salary when recruiting new employees.
Workplace diversity and inclusion is much more than a buzzword. It’s your company’s commitment to raising awareness and supporting a diverse workforce. These are the policies and strategies you need to attract, hire and keep hold of the people your organisation needs regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability and more.
Our step-by-step user guides make using Totaljobs products easier than ever before. Find out best practice, dos and don’ts, and how you can increase recruitment ROI and hire the people you need.
What is employer branding? Your employer brand strategy is vitally important to make sure you can recruit the best people for your business.
