News archive

The Times comments on Future Flows, a report on immigration compiled for Harvey Nash by the Centre for Economics and Business Research. The report predicts that skilled migrant workers will contribute more than ₤77 billion to the UK economy by 2012.

The Financial Times reports on the latest ONS job statistics and the announcement that whilst overall employment has increased, average earnings growth has dipped slightly. A breakdown of the record 31.62m jobs in the economy also suggested the number of jobs in the finance and business services sector dipped by 5,000 to 6.65m during the final three months of last year - the first quarterly fall since 2002.

The Financial Times reports on techniques companies use to make new recruits feel welcome in their jobs, a process called ‘onboarding’. Some organisations assign new starters ‘lunch buddies’ and mentors whilst others receive hampers or corporate shopping vouchers.

The Sunday Times reports that many organisations are increasingly outsourcing HR functions, because of the complexity of employment law. Cost, skills and technological capabilities are all considered to be important factors when deciding whether to outsource these functions. The Sunday Times notes that for many managers dispute resolution is a particularly desired area to outsource.

The Daily Telegraph reports that the scale of Britain’s “chronic unemployment” problem has been disclosed by figures showing that almost 400,000 of those who are unemployed – a quarter of Britain’s jobless – have been out of work for more than a year.

The Financial Times reports that the number of east and central European migrants coming to work in the UK dipped last year for the first time since their countries joined the European Union in 2004, according to Home Office figures.

Reporting on the Government’s ‘world-class apprenticeships’ scheme, the Observer notes that the initiative is being driven by government policy rather than supply and demand. While employer and professional bodies such as the EEF and Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) are broadly in favour of the initiative, they are hardly brimming with enthusiasm.