Company bosses believe employees feel more secure at work for the first time in four years but skill shortages have become dramatically worse.
These are the main findings of a survey of employment trends by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and William M Mercer, the human resources and employee benefits consultant.
Twenty seven per cent of respondents said employees thought jobs were more secure in 2000, 21 per cent said less secure. The resulting balance of plus 6 per cent compares with minus 15 per cent in 1999 and minus 25 per cent in 1998.
On skill shortages, 39 per cent of firms said this had a significant impact on competitiveness compared with 23 per cent in 1999 and 14 per cent in 1998. Skill levels were the biggest factor affecting competitive advantage and firms responded by investing in training.
Sixty one per cent reported a rise in training expenditure compared to 49 per cent in 1999 and 44 per cent in 1998.
