Member Article

"Steady as she goes" reports Hull and Humber Chambers

Hull& Humber Chambers employment and recruitment figures in the latest Quarterly Economic Survey report was a mixed bag, with only 35% of firms agreeing that they work at full capacity.

On the jobs front, the latest research conducted by Hull & Humber Chamber of Commerce, reveals that;

• 33% of firms who responded to the survey reported difficulties in filling management vacancies
• 23% had difficulties filling skilled manual positions, (although the trend seen in the last quarter’s results of the availability of more full time permanent positions being advertised, seems to be continuing, which is positive news according to the Chamber.)
• Only 35% of firms say they are working at full capacity; 4% fewer than in the last quarter’s results, and a marked difference from the 62% figure from the second quarter of last year.
• More firms expected their cashflow to decrease in the next three months, but those firms expecting it to remain constant was only 1% down on the last quarter at 46%.
• Firms expecting to invest in plant and machinery equipment also saw a slight decline in this survey, with the balance figure dropping by eight points to 21.
• The number of firms expecting their investment to remain constant was fairly consistent with the last two quarters, at 58%, a 3% improvement on the last set of results.
• Investment in training also took something of a hit, with the balance figure dropping eight points when compared to the previous quarter, but at 21, is still substantially better than the figure of 13 in Quarter 3 of last year.

The announcement at the end of March that Siemens is committing to the Humber region for the long-term was welcomed across the area, says the Hull & Humber Chambers, set to create jobs and stimulate the local supply chains.

The Chamber’s chief executive, Dr Ian Kelly, says: “After a final flourish at the end of last year, the survey results for the first quarter of this year seem to paint a picture of “steady as she goes”.

“With no dramatic changes in any particular area, the Chamber feels that the steady climb out of recession is continuing, and the fact that it appears to be progressing at a steadier pace is perhaps a good thing, as quite often, more companies tend to struggle with cashflow coming out of a recession than they doing going into one.

“The Q1 survey indicates that recruiting candidates for managerial posts is proving to be quite difficult in this area, and skilled manual vacancies are also proving problematic, which is something of a concern, especially when you consider the need for engineers to meet the demand that the Siemens’ investment in the Humber region is expected to lead to.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .