Unemployment 'will peak next summer'

Those in HR jobs have been told to expect unemployment to peak in summer 2010 by industry body the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

Its latest report predicted that a further 250,000 people in the UK will lose their job by the second quarter of 2010, leaving the country with record levels of unemployment.

If the forecast is correct, around 2.8 million will be out of work, a lower amount than originally predicted by the government and financial experts at the start of 2009, reports Personnel Today.

John Philpott, chief economic adviser at the CIPD, stated that staff in HR jobs will be expected to introduce pay freezes at many organisations next year.

"Private sector employers will seek to contain wage costs and public sector employers will have to cope with the consequences of fast-shrinking budgets and mass job downsizing," he said.

Earlier this month, a study by Income Data Services reported in the Financial Times revealed that HR departments had escaped the brunt of the recession, with 42 per cent keeping staff levels stable and 23 per cent hiring more employees.

Updated: 30 December 2009.
Categories: human-resources, market-and-industry-news.