LONDON (MNI) – Employment intentions in the dominant services
sector have fallen to their lowest level since February last year,
according to a Bank of England Agents’ report, adding to the gloom over
the UK jobs outlook.
The agents report showed the November score for total services
employment intentions fell to -0.1 from 0.1 in October, hitting its
lowest level since the -0.4 recorded back in February 2010. Consumer
services has the weakest hiring intentions, with a score of -0.2, down
from -0.1 in October.
The report, accompanying the December minutes of the BOE’s Monetary
Policy Committee, will reinforce the belief unemployment is set to rise
next year. Hiring intentions in business services were flat and only
manufacturing recruitment plans were positive, with a score of 0.6.
“Private sector employment intentions had weakened further, and now
suggested that employment would remain broadly flat over the coming
year,” the report said.
Employers are seeing easing capacity constraints, which is
unsurprising in light of the economic slowdown. The November
manufacturing capacity constraint score fell to -0.1 from October’s 0.2
and services to -1.1 from -0.9.
Each month BOE agents assess economic conditions around the regions
of the UK and their scores are numerical measures of the intelligence
they gather.
The BOE says “The scores are also timely and some have a high
correlation with subsequently published ONS data.”
–London newsroom: 4420 7862 7491 e-mail: drobinson@marketnews.com
[TOPICS: M$B$$$,M$$BE$]
