Employment figures in the UK…

Unemployment in the UK has reached record highs of 1.97 million between October and December, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.

Though the figure is less than the 2 million that was expected by analysts, it is still the highest level of unemployment seen in the UK in over 10 years, and the two million mark is expected to be hit when the next lot of figures are released.

Employment figures across Europe are just as bad…

The rate of unemployment has risen by 6.3%, the fastest increase figure since 1997. However, unemployment in the UK is still slightly lower than that in Europe, which currently stands at 7.7%. But, the UK figures are deteriorating faster than the European average jobless figures.

Brendan Barber from the Trades Union Congress said: “The UK began global recession with a relatively strong jobs position, but our advantage is beginning to disappear as redundancies mount.”

But Employers are Still fighting…

But even as the unemployment figures mount across the globe, small business employers are doing their best to keep on their most talented employees according to research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

The new report that has been released by the CIPD, shows that most companies see talent retention as their top priority when it comes to who stays on in their firm.

The Stats of it All…

According to the report, 74% of firms haven’t changed their talent strategy, and 18% are actually placing more emphasis on identifying and trying to retain the talent they have among their employees.

55% of organisations also said they were trying to develop talent in-house, whereas 45% are apparently focusing on internal essential development.

Organisation and Resourcing Advisor for the CIPD said: “It is essential that organisations avoid knee-jerk reactions and cost-cutting in the very areas that will make the biggest difference. Now is not the time to halt employee development, nor is it the time to postpone or scale back talent management strategies.”

25% of the companies included in the report have admitted that they had to downsize their company, but only 3% of those that have downsized have said that they had to let go of what they considered to be ‘key talent’.

11% of the recorded companies also confessed to taking the opportunity to recruit some of the talent that has been discarded by their competitors.

What do You Think?

Do you agree to this system of choosing which employees to keep? Is it fair to be so subjective on who gets to keep their jobs? What do employers class as ‘talent’, and what can employees do to increase their chances of being kept on? Leave your comments here.

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