More businesses looking to recruit as confidence increases

New research reveals that UK business confidence is at a 12-month high – resulting in more companies looking to recruit.

Improved business conditions are expected for the rest of 2013, according to the latest Business Trends report by accountants and business advisers BDO LLP. BDO’s Optimism Index, which predicts business performance two quarters ahead, moved up for the fourth consecutive month, to 93.6 in May from 93.0 in April. It is now at its highest point since May 2012.

Recruitment boost

This boost in confidence is leading more businesses to look to recruit. The BDO Employment Index, which measures UK businesses’ hiring intentions over the next two quarters, rose to 96.6 in May, the index’s highest since August 2011. This is the fifth consecutive month that the index has been at or above the crucial 95.0 level that represents employment growth, and indicates that the private sector will help to offset the effects of continuing public sector job cuts.

Peter Hemington, Partner at BDO LLP, says: “It’s encouraging to see that UK business confidence has continued its upward trend, and that businesses have retained their healthy hiring intentions for a fifth consecutive month.

“However the Government must do more to achieve the robust economic growth that remains tantalisingly out of reach. The Government must look to ensure more funds are reaching British businesses through lending, in order to help them drive the UK’s economic recovery.”

This is because, despite the improvements, both the optimism and output scores still remain below the 95.0 mark that indicates growth. This suggests that although business conditions are improving, risks still remain to the UK’s economic outlook.

To hire or not to hire?

For any company, but especially for start-up businesses, the decision on whether to recruit can be a major one. You need to ensure that the balance of workload to staff is right – and to take advice on employment law if you have no previous experience of hiring.

If you are thinking of hiring over the coming months, our useful online guides and blog posts may help give you an overview of a range of staffing and employment issues, to help you promote your business growth. These cover topics including:

• your options when considering hiring staff 
• contracts of employment 
• how to manage your staff
• flexible working 

At Bizspace, we are experiencing very high occupancy across a range of our business centres, inkeeping with the trend of renewed business confidence. We are committed to helping our customers to grow and thrive and can help by helping you find the ideal business space to suit your needs and budget.  You can expand with Bizspace as your company grows, moving into a larger unit as you hire more staff. Search online for a space near you.