Furlough survey highlights the shift to a candidate led market

UK professionals remain confident and are unfazed by the end of scheme

Furlough survey highlights the shift to a candidate led market

UK professionals remain confident and are unfazed by the end of scheme  

As the Government furlough scheme ends, after 18 months in place, questions over what will happen to the UK job market and the economy are a hot topic of debate.  

What will happen now the furlough scheme has ended? 

There’s been much speculation in the press, much of it focused on gloomy predictions for certain sectors of the UK workforce, over the coming months. Only time will tell what the true impact of the end of the furlough scheme will be. What we can be sure of, is that a huge period of adjustment lays ahead for those returning to work and businesses will need to balance their profit margins with new consideration. Sadly, redundancies will follow. The numbers remain to be seen, but it would be naive to think that the record number of job vacancies in the UK right now are the simple solution and will off-set the total – not with the huge skills shortages we’re experiencing across such a breadth of sectors. 

What do UK professionals think about the end of the furlough scheme? 

At CV-Library, we regularly ask our registered candidates for their thoughts and opinions, and the results are always fascinating.  

Since the easing out of lockdown restrictions earlier this year, job postings in the UK have reached a record high and the skills shortages I mentioned, have become apparent across many sectors, creating a candidate led market. But, ever since the furlough scheme began, many have feared the consequences once it ended.  

However, our survey reveals that the overwhelming majority of UK workers, (82%) aren’t personally concerned about the scheme ending and a further 73.9% aren’t concerned that the end of the scheme will impact the business they work for either. Interestingly, a whopping 74.6% also report that they won’t be put off looking for a new job in October and aren’t fearful of any increased competition for roles.   

What are the concerns about the furlough scheme ending? 

Overall, 63.6% of the 1500 UK professionals who responded, don’t feel they’ll be impacted in any way at all by the end of the furlough scheme. Of those that did have concerns, the top five were as follows:  

  1. Fear of an increased workload  
  2. Worry that colleagues will now leave  
  3. Anxiety that they’ll now feel trapped in their role   
  4. An expectation that the company they work for will be worse off  
  5. Concerned about a decreased workload  

The fact job losses didn’t make the top list of concerns for UK professionals, is a real surprise and shows the extent of the job market swing in candidates’ favour.   

Reasons to be cheerful 

Above all, and after such unprecedented and turbulent times, it’s good to know that the Great British spirit is alive and well. And the feeling of optimism and determination from employees can only be a positive thing, both for the UK economy and its workforce. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lee Biggins
Lee Biggins
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