Middle East – Online hiring up in July, Monster finds

The Monster Employment Index for the Middle East showed online hiring increased in all seven monitored countries.

The highest year-on-year growth for July 2018 was registered by Bahrain at 25%, while the lowest was recorded in Qatar at 2%.

The index is a monthly gauge of online job hiring activity by Monster.com,...

Finland – Unemployment rate falls to 6.5% in July, employment rate rises to 74.1%

The unemployment rate in Finland stood at 6.5% in July, down from 7.5% in the same period last year, according to data from Statistics Finland. At the same time, the employment rate rose to 74.1%, up from 72.0% in the same period last year.

Overall, In July 2018, the number of employed persons was 2.63...

UK – Balfour Beatty denies reports that it has banned the use of umbrella companies (Construction Index)

British construction firm Balfour Beatty has denied reports by the Unite union that it has banned the use of payroll ‘umbrella’ companies on one of its major contracts, reports Construction Index. Earlier this month, Unite said it had come to an agreement with Balfour Beatty to ban the use of umbrella...

UK – Prime Minister backs away from pledge of 3 million apprenticeships by 2020 (The Times)

Prime Minister Theresa May has backed away from her vow to create three million apprenticeships by April 2020, reports The Times. This comes after The Times had revealed, citing research from manufacturer’s association EEF, that there is little prospect of that target being reached. The pledge was...

Denmark – Jobindex Q2 revenue up 5.4%, but EBITDA and profits slide

Danish job board Jobindex A/S (JOBNDX: CPH) reported net sales for the second quarter of DKK 81.9 million (€10.9 million), an increase of % compared with the same quarter last year.

Romania – More than 19,000 Romanians left the country for overseas jobs in H1 2018

Employment agencies found and brokered foreign jobs for 19,070 Romanian citizens in the first half of 2018, mostly in countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Spain and England, according to data from the Labour Inspectorate.

Data from the Labour Inspectorate also found that 282 Romanian workers...

UK – Businesses lose up to 7 weeks a year of productivity due to worker procrastination, study finds

Nearly a quarter, or 23%, of UK professionals, admit to spending up to 21 hours each month on personal activities such as texting and internet shopping during their work time, according to survey data from job site CV-Library. This is the equivalent of 2.8 full working days lost every month, or seven...

Germany – Government to look at easing immigration laws to fill skilled labour gaps (Reuters)

Germany’s cabinet will soon decide on a proposal to make it easier for skilled workers from outside the European Union to move to Germany to take a job as the country seeks to ease chronic labour shortages, Reuters reports. The new proposal mainly addresses relaxing migration policy for professionals...

Netherlands – Growth in permanent jobs outpaces flexible jobs in Q2, ABU finds

In the second quarter of 2018, the number of employees with a permanent contract rose faster than the number of those in flexible jobs, according to the latest Flex Barometer from the Dutch Federation of Private Employment Agencies (ABU). 

The barometer showed that in the second quarter, the number...

France – Unemployment rate falls 0.3% in Q2, fixed-term and temp employment fall slightly

France’s unemployment rate stood at 9.2% in the second quarter of 2018. Over the year, the unemployment rate decreased by 0.3%, according to data from INSEE (National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies).

INSEE’s Q2 data also covered fixed-term and temporary employment, showing a decrease...