We can be forgiven for thinking Brexit was contained a lot of media furore that amounted to very little in terms of economic impact. However despite the effects being nowhere near the calamity catastrophised by prominent voices in the media, the ensuing uncertainty and drop in the pound could be starting to seep through into employment.
A Change in Tone
Buoyed by reports of economic growth after the Brexit vote recent news of employee views around redundancies and bonuses serve as food for thought on the jobs market.
The Glassdoor UK Employment Confidence survey reported confidence levels at their lowest rate since the survey began. Indeed, 1 in 3 employees fear redundancy in the next 3 months.
Other Statistics
Millenial confidence is also at an all time low with the survey reporting that 39% fearing losing their job in the next 6 months. There was also bad news around bonuses as 39% of employees claimed employers had either reduced or failed to pay bonuses. In addition, numbers of employees reported their companies to have reduced pay, made changes to compensation structuring and reduced benefits.
Still a Candidate Driven Market
Some interesting news though was that people remained confident in their prospect of finding a new job – infact one third of employees believe they can find an equivalent job in six months in the current market.
In summary it would appear there is fear around current positions and their long term stability in the market, matched by optimism in finding a new position based on the latest quarter’s results from Glassdoor.
What We Think
Although it’s not possible to attribute this change in feeling precisely to Brexit, it’s fair to consider the permeation of news around Article 50, consumer confidence, a falling pound and instability resulting from the decision could effect how we view our job security. Brexit is still a long way off being “old news” in the recruitment landscape.
Castle Hill House