The health of the broader UK economy is as much of a concern to those overseeing science recruitment
campaigns as it is those in any other sector.
Thankfully, candidates hoping to land lucrative science
jobs, as well as organisations seeking to match the right talent to their
vacancies, will be heartened to read Britain's latest unemployment figures.
An encouraging last
quarter
On the eve of Chancellor George Osborne's latest Budget, it was revealed that UK
unemployment fell to 1.68 million between November and January 2016, a
28,000 drop from the previous quarter. It meant that the UK unemployment rate
remained static at a decade-low 5.1%.
Among those to respond warmly to the news was UK economist
at Capital Economics, Scott Bowman, who described the latest labour market
figures as offering "a ray of sunshine" amid "global 'storm
clouds'".
Potential applicants for science jobs in the East and North
East regions of England may have reason to feel especially warmed by the
figures, given the 15,000 decline in the number of unemployed people in the first
of those regions and the 11,000 fall recorded for the latter.
National Living Wage
should do little to harm the statistics
We hadn't seen an all-Conservative Budget for more than 18
years when George Osborne delivered the new Government's first spending plan
last July, its most eye-catching announcement the introduction of a new compulsory National
Living Wage of £7.20 an hour for working people aged 25 and over.
With the National Living Wage having only been introduced this
month, it's a little early to make an accurate assessment of its impact on
unemployment, although the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) estimated
that UK business should be more than capable of accommodating the additional
expense.
Although the OBR forecast the direct loss of 60,000 jobs by
2020 as a consequence of the change, it added that almost one million other
jobs would have been created by then to compensate. Many of them, we suspect,
will be the chemistry, pharmacology, immunology and clinical roles that science
recruitment agencies like Hyper Recruitment Solutions will be inevitably
looking to fill in the months and years ahead.
Benefits continue to
plummet
However, while low-paid
workers were given an unexpectedly pleasant surprise in last summer's Budget in
the form of the National Living Wage, some of them were also hit by tax credits
now being limited to the first two children for new claims. Meanwhile, those
aged between 18 and 21 were to be denied housing benefit altogether.
As TUC general
secretary Frances O'Grady pointed out, young people were particular losers in
the first fully Conservative Budget of the 21st century, declaring that
"it was all bad news as they will not get the minimum-wage boost and will
suffer from cuts to higher education grants and housing benefit."
These will all be worries
pressing on the minds of younger graduates seeking their first science jobs
this year. However, contrary to O'Grady's verdict, there was
some good news for them in the form of a lower unemployment rate among 16 to 24
year olds - 13.7% between November
and January 2016, compared to the 16.2% recorded a year earlier.
Are you eager to find the perfect new science role for you
in 2016, or could your organisation do with some assistance in filling its
latest quality assurance, R&D and/or
clinical research vacancies? Either way, simply get in touch with the science recruitment
professionals at Hyper Recruitment Solutions today for the most
appropriately tailored support.