LONDON, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- British employers sought to hire both permanent and temporary workers to maintain stability amid Brexit uncertainty, said a survey released on Wednesday by the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC).
The REC's latest JobsOutlook survey showed that some 77 percent of employers said they had little or no surplus capacity in their workforce between May and July 2019.
In particular, 45 percent of public sector employers reported having no spare capacity at all, with the health and social care sector being most concerned about lacking employees, said the professional organization for the British recruitment and staffing industry.
Demand for temporary workers also increased, being much higher among small and medium-sized enterprises than large organizations, it said.
Notably, the proportion of employers who had turned at least half of temporary workers into permanent ones each year rose sharply, from 15 percent in May-July 2018 to 23 percent in the same time period this year, it said.
"This most recent survey shows employers are still looking to take on both permanent and temporary workers as they seek to maintain stability amidst the Brexit uncertainty," said Tom Hadley, director of Policy and Campaigns at the REC.
"More employers also seem to be trying to transfer their best temps into permanent roles as candidate shortages continue to bite across many sectors," Hadley said.
"These skills shortages were especially acute in sectors like health and social care. With over 100,000 vacancies in the NHS (National Health Service) and staff already working at full capacity, the government's recent announcement on ending freedom of movement has come at the worst possible time," he said.
Hadley said European Union (EU) workers are crucial for the British health and social care system, adding it is "essential that the government has in place a sensible transition towards an evidence-based immigration policy to help reassure employers and EU citizens."
On Aug. 19, Britain's Home Office confirmed that the country will end the free movement of European Union nationals if no deal is reached with Brussels by Oct. 31.
