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Staff numbers to shrink in haulage
Page 39
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By Louise Cole _ _
A LACK OF BUSINESS confidence has manifested itself in the latest employment survey from driver specialist Manpower. Some 5% of transport firms say they intend to take on more staff during April to June 2008, while 7% are looking to make cutbacks, giving a balance of -2%. This figure is a struggling 11% less than last quarter, and a substantial 13% decrease on a similar period last year. However, Manpower says it is seeing strong demand for agency drivers, suggesting a reluctance to take on permanent staff over the next few months.
Other sectors, however, are showing slightly more robust hiring patterns, with manufacturing (up 8%) and utilities (up 12%) both hiring more aggressively than last year. This could suggest a marginally stronger demand for transport in those sectors. Highstreet retailers also intend to be hiring at 6% greater levels than last year, hut this is points to reduced confidence in the market than at the start of 2007.