Unemployment figures

The number of people working in the UK has jumped by the largest amount in more than two decades. Unemployment now stands at 2.46 million.

But in an interesting twist the figures show the rise in employment was lead by a record number of part-timers and people aged over 65 remaining in work.

That ties in with our experience.

The number of opportunities has increased – certainly since this time last year – which is good news. But many employers are remaining cautious and preferring to take on temporary or contract staff. Often the thinking is that, if all goes well, the person will be offered a permanent contract but, for the moment, they’re reluctant to make a wholesale commitment.

And, from the other side, we’re finding that candidates winning at interview are the ones who are flexible and happy to consider temporary or contract opportunities – rather than the ones holding out for full time permanent positions.

While these kind of roles don’t offer long – or even medium – term security they can be a valuable stepping stone and a way back into the workplace and we often advise candidates to seriously consider them.

The other thing we advise is a positive approach – in fact, you might have seen me saying just that on the Anglia Television news bulletins on Wednesday. However frustrating it is answering the same questions for the 20th time you have to approach each interview as if it’s your first – but with the benefit of having done dress rehearsals!

Anglia approached us to talk about the employment situation in Peterborough – something we like to think we know quite a lot about! One of our candidates was interviewed on camera too, talking about the difficulties of finding the right kind of work.

You can watch the full report by clicking here.