Opportunity in Growth: CBI/Pertemps Employment Trends Survey 2024

In partnership with Pertemps Network Group, our Employment Trends Survey provides a cross-economy insight into labour market trends impacting businesses’ ability to grow and operate sustainably.  

Key findings include

Investment intentions

• A significant majority (62%) of employers surveyed by the CBI and Pertemps predict a decline in the UK as an attractive place to invest and do business over the next five years. Notably, businesses are increasingly pessimistic with a 6% upswing in those concerned that the UK is set to become ‘much less attractive’.
• A negative swing in expectations for the impact of the labour market on the UK as a place to invest and do business in the next 5 years. 36% of employers think that the UK labour market will become a much less attractive place to invest and/or do business in the next 5 years, an increase of 6% since last year. A further 26% think it will become slightly less attractive.

Shortages

• 7 in 10 respondents (70%) have been affected by shortages over the past twelve months and is broadly in line with 2023 (71%). This means protection from the effects of shortages continues to be the exception rather than the rule.
• The impact of shortages on firms facing them have broadly stayed the same over the past twelve months, with the inability to grow and respond to new opportunities despite demand ranking as the top challenge related to shortages, affecting around 2 in 5 firms this year and in 2023 (41% and 38%, respectively). Positively, fewer respondents have reported shrinking due to shortages since last year (6% and 12%, respectively) but the proportion of firms being unable to operate profitably has doubled from 6% to 13%.

Employment Rights Bill

• Only 26% of businesses currently say they are confident they can absorb the cost of the government’s Make Work Pay plan for workers, given the limited information they have, without a negative impact on growth, investment, jobs or employee benefits. 54% either disagree or strongly disagree that they can afford the higher costs they expect from the package without there being unintended consequences.
• 39% of businesses currently think the impact of employment regulation on flexibility is a threat to labour market competitiveness, but that jumps to 58% over the next 5 years. This is the main change in perceived future threats to competitiveness, joining skills gaps (71%), labour shortages (58%) and labour costs (56%) as the most identified risks.

Skills

• Growth in skills investment is slowing compared to the last time data was gathered in 2022 (38%) and is down on pre-pandemic norms, with just one third of employers (32%) planning to make higher investments in the training and development of staff over the next year relative to investment over the past twelve months.
• 52% of respondents and 80% of businesses with 250+ employees believe that greater flexibility in the apprenticeship levy would incentivise them to invest more in training their workforce.
• Six in ten respondents (59%) agree that the levy should fund any form of accredited training.