Cost of living crisis & recruitment
As inflation has reached a 40 year all time high in 2022, the cost of living is the topic on everyone’s lips. With rising energy and fuel bills, not to mention the escalating price of a weekly shop in the supermarket, pockets are feeling the pinch.
A recent survey from GMB Union of more than 2,300 workers across all sectors reported that 41% of respondents agreed that they “have had to borrow money to cover essentials from banks, payday lenders, or family and friends in the last six months”. With the spiralling inflation and increased cost of living, over one third (37%) of UK workers are considering changing jobs.
It’s clear that this is not a crisis that is going to disappear quickly. It’s also hard to suggest ways that employers can help other than through salary rises and benefits packages that they themselves might be unable to afford. Lobbying the Government for policy level changes and freezing senior pay rises and bonuses seem to be regular suggestions on offer. However, if businesses are able to handle the crisis from a financial point of view, they can always be aware of the stress that their employees are under and provide support in terms of flexibility and understanding.
Will I get more money elsewhere?
Right now in the UK, there are record levels of unfilled vacancies across many sectors. Alongside this is an immense candidate supply shortage, largely because of people leaving the jobs market on the back of the pandemic, and also because of low candidate confidence for changing jobs because of the uncertainty caused by the pandemic.
There’s also other good news for those considering leaving their roles—redundancies are at their lowest levels for decades. Jobs are fundamentally quite secure. And then there is the all-important fact that the number of vacancies combined with the candidate shortages is notably pushing up starting salaries, which are rising at near record levels. The latest data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) shows that growth in average pay sits at 5.4%. In real terms, this is wiped out by the cost of living crisis, but it is by changing jobs that you can see a pay rise that not only helps you weather the cost of living crisis, but feel better off financially overall.
Change jobs securely
If you want to change jobs for financial reasons, the important thing is to make wise choices. This requires the support of recruitment professionals. Purple Panda Recruitment can help you identify a good role for increasing your pay to weather the cost-of-living crisis, while ensuring your overall security and career development.