The news this morning is dominated by variations on the “latest” CIPD study.

It claims that “the UK labour market faces a “slow, painful contraction” with firms delaying recruitment of more staff”. Furthermore, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) predicted the jobs market would worsen in the medium term amid global economic “turmoil”, and that employers were adopting a “wait and see” policy towards the economy, which involved reduced recruitment as well as fewer redundancies.

The problem with any report such as this is the length of time it takes to compile. Let’s be fair, the CIPD apparently contacted 1,000 employers, but the chances are it took a month to target the clients, a month to get the results back and a month to put the report together. So the chances are, the views reported are probably three months old and not representative of what is actually happening.

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I don’t know whether it is something in the water or just an indication that people are losing patience with the whole Eurozone crisis, but there is a definite change of mood in the recruitment market.

The last few months had seen a lot of clients deferring recruitment until the future was clearer, but it now seems that these same clients are taking control of their own destiny and seeking to strengthen their staffing to take advantage of the opportunities that are being presented to them. Regardless of how long this “crisis” continues, and let’s be fair we have been living under a cloud for nearly four years now, there are good businesses out there, making stuff, selling stuff and making profits. There also seems to be a willingness on behalf of some banks, though not all, to invest in really good opportunities.

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I saw this article in Insider magazine and thought it worth sharing.

“Small and medium-sized businesses are owed a record £33.6bn in late payments, according to new research by payment company Bacs.

The amount owed is a rise of 10 per cent in the past 12 months and the highest figure since records began in September 2007. The report said that small companies are owed an average of £39,000 and are waiting up to two months to get paid.

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Over the last few years, even as the economy has worsened and money gets tighter, one area that hasn’t changed its requirements, and may even have increased, is the number of charities seeking our help and donations. It is unlikely that you can walk down your local high street or through a shopping centre without being harassed by chuggers looking to sign you up to regular donations to a specific charity. I am sure that all are equally deserving, but charity giving should be something about which you are passionate, and therefore a very personal choice. At Managed Recruitment Solutions, we support three charities but at very specific times of the year, and in very specific ways.

September is the month we support the British Heart Foundation; we hold a golf day and the raffle proceeds are matched and donated. At Christmas we support Marie Curie Cancer Care, primarliy through our Christmas cards. In November, we support prostate cancer and testicular cancer initiatives through the growing of unnecessary facial hair.

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