Hays latest UK Salary and Recruiting Trends report surveyed over 10,000 employers and employees about their hiring and job intentions. According to the report, 38% of employees plan to move jobs within the next six months.
The main reasons for moving on are wanting a bigger salary (27%) and being frustrated by a lack of future opportunities (26%). However, only 29% of employees questioned had actually asked their employer for a pay rise.
This increased churn will cause problems for employers who are hoping to grow, Hays MD Nigel Heap said at an event launching the report.
According to the findings, 70% of employers are planning to increase headcount in the next year, with 62% of organisations planning to hire more permanent staff and 33% expecting to hire more temporary, contract or interim workers.
“Candidate confidence in the market has increased in the last six months and this will cause headaches for employers who are looking to increase their headcount,” said Heap.
He added that serious skills shortages (33% of employers reported having trouble finding the skills they need) will only make things worse, with organisations competing fiercely for the talent they need. Top skills employers are searching for are managerial and leadership (57%), operations and technical (45%) and IT and digital (33%).
Salary rises on average have remained restrained over the past year, with average increases of 1.8%. However certain industries where skills shortages are rife, like construction and IT, have enjoyed double digit growth.
The data found 60% of employers are planning to increase pay in the next 12 months, but Heap suggested that proportion “should be a lot higher” to increase retention.
Speaking at the same event, CBI chief membership director Sara Parker said that skills shortages leading to higher pay rises in certain sectors were skewing UK pay data.
“Pay standards have been squeezed, but there are huge pockets of skills shortages where people are getting significant salary growth,” she said. “That masks the fact that many people have had [little to no] salary increases and they are the people who are feeling pressed.”
