UK – May delays Brexit vote, CBI calls for clarity

A vote on Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal was delayed, possibly until as late as January, according to news reports. Parliament had been scheduled to vote on it today, but the vote was put on hold amid concerns that May didn’t have enough votes. The news comes amid a new study that found...

Europe – Optimistic hiring outlooks for Q1, UK employers expect 6% increase: ManpowerGroup

Employers worldwide report optimistic hiring outlooks for the first quarter of 2019, according to the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey released today by ManpowerGroup Inc. (NYSE: MAN). Employers in all 26 countries surveyed in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region plan to hire next quarter....

Italy – Average number of temporary employees up by 3.4% in October

The average number of temporary employees rose by 3.4% year over year in October, according to data from Ebitemp, Italy’s bilateral organisation for temporary employment representing employers’ associations and unions.

In addition, the number of hours worked by temporary agency workers rose by 7.6%...

Europe – Industry initiative addresses future of labour market, proposes five areas of focus

The World Employment Confederation Europe launched “Making Europe the best place to work,” the private employment industry’s campaign to address labour markets for the next five years.

“The growing mismatch between the world of work and our social systems puts Europe at risk of missing out on...

Netherlands – Workers with non-western backgrounds more likely to be in flexible employment relationships

Workers with a non-western background more often had a flexible employment relationship than native Dutch workers, according to a report from Statistics Netherlands.

It found 34% of those with a non-western background had a flexible employment relationship while 21% of native Dutch did.

“This difference...

Netherlands – HeadFirst completes acquisition of Staffing MS

Dutch staffing firm HeadFirst Source Group NV announced that it has completed the acquisition of Staffing Management Services (Staffing MS), a Managed Service Provider (MSP), based in the Netherlands.

Staffing MS is now part of HeadFirst Source Group with effect from 6 December 2018 and will function...

Netherlands – Dutch jobs board Jobbird goes bankrupt, founder fails to notify employees

Jobbird, a Dutch job board, declared bankruptcy last week with the group’s founder seemingly failing to inform its employees.

According to Sprout.nl, Jobbird founder Jan-Peter Cruiming filed for bankruptcy behind the scenes and did not notify employees.

Staff at Jobbird were given notice of dismissal...

Europe – Employment edges up in euro area and EU28 in Q3

The number of persons employed increased by 1.3% in the euro area and by 1.2% in the EU28 in the third quarter of 2018 compared with the same period last year, according to data published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

When compared to the previous quarter, the employment rate...

UK – Nearly 40% of firms struggle to source skills due to Brexit uncertainty

UK Businesses are struggling to access the skills they need to thrive, with 39% of hiring managers finding that uncertainty around Brexit has directly impacted access to talent, according to survey data from talent acquisition and managed workforce solutions provider, Guidant Global.

Guidant Global’s...

Belgium – Temporary workers’ hours nearly double in 20 years (MSN.com)

The number of working hours performed by temporary agency workers in Belgium has almost doubled in twenty years, from 116.3 million hours in 1998 to 227.6 million hours in 2018, the highest level ever reported, reports MSN.com citing data from the Central Prevention Service for the Temporary Employment...