Germany – Amadeus FiRe half-year revenue growth boosted by permanent placement

German staffing firm Amadeus FiRe (AAD: GR) reported revenue for the six months ending 30 June 2017 of €88.7 million, an increase of 6.2% compared with €83.5 million during the same period last year. 

Switzerland – Jobseeker confidence falls, but German-speaking region is most confident

According to the PageGroup Confidence Index for Q2, 61% of job seekers in Switzerland did not expect compensation levels to increase. This was up from 58% in the same time last year.

Jobseekers in the German-speaking region of the country were more confident about their career prospects and the Swiss...

Ireland – Number of job vacancies in first half of the year up 6%

Collins McNicholas, an Irish recruitment firm, has seen a 6% growth in registered job vacancies in the first half of 2017 compared with the first half of 2016.

The number of candidates registered with Collins McNicholas is up by 24% in the same period. Collins McNicholas states that the growth in jobs...

EU – European Commission report shows younger generation faces a heavy burden in labour market

A study from the European Commission showed that despite overall unemployment levels in the EU being at its lowest in nearly ten years, younger generations are bearing a particularly heavy burden.

The report states that the youth in the EU tend to find it harder to find work and are more exposed to “precarious”...

UK – Employees spend more than 5 hours a week ‘bored at work’

Employees in the UK are spending nearly 14% of their week bored at work, according to research from international recruitment firm Robert Half.

The data from Robert Half showed that employees in London and the South East are the most bored, with managers anticipating that staff spend 6.4 hours a week...

UK – Employers could turn to temp workers to fill vacancies amid skills shortage

The majority of UK employers intend to increase or maintain their use of temporary workers in the next three months amid a shortage of candidates, according to the latest JobsOutlook report by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation.

The research from the REC showed 19% of employers are actively...

Ireland – Minimum wage set to increase by 30 cents an hour from January

Ireland’s minimum wage is set to rise to €9.55 an hour from €9.25 an hour starting from January 2018, as recommended by the Low Pay Commission. The increase could benefit up to 150,000 workers across Ireland.

The announcement was made by An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise...

Europe – Number of ICT specialists on the rise

In the EU, 8.2 million persons were employed in 2016 as ICT specialists, representing 3.7% of total employment, up from 3.0% in 2011, according to data from Eurostat, the statistical body of the European Union.

In 2011, there were 6.3 million employed as ICT specialists in the EU. Eurostat states that...

UK – Job insecurity fears more than double since Brexit vote

Job insecurity among UK workers has risen from 5% to 13% since the UK’s decision to leave the EU last year, according to research from Office Genie, an office search engine focused on SMEs and freelancers.

The survey, which polled more than 1,250 workers, showed that before the EU referendum, 70% of...

South Africa – Labour Appeal Court hands down victory for employees hired through labour brokers

A Labour Appeal Court in South Africa has ruled that employees hired via temporary employment services, or labour brokers, will be entitled to permanent employee benefits if they remain employed by a company for more than three months.

The decision overturned a previous judgement from 2015 which ruled...