In the last week, the government has announced that the unemployment rate has fallen to 7.1%, with a quarterly drop of 167,000 people. This is the largest decline since 1997 and the second largest since records began. This news has surprised economists who believed that the unemployment rate would continue to reduce, but at a slower rate – possibly reaching less than 7% by 2016.
The Office of National Statistics data also shows that the number of people in work has now increased to 30.15 million, a 280,000 increase. The percentage of working age people in employment has now reached 72.1%, an increase of almost 1%, while the number of those no longer looking for work has also fallen to 8.93 million.
While the positive effects of this news are yet to be felt by the average household, for those looking for a new tax career or wishing to negotiate for a salary rise, this news could be very welcome.
The most recent research at Creative Tax Recruitment has indicated that the future looks very optimistic for the taxation sector in the profession. In fact new tax opportunities in particular are improving significantly according to our research.
• Close to two thirds of the clients we have spoken to have indicated that they would be recruiting in 2014.
• 80% of the clients we have spoken to have indicated an increase in business and an overall confidence.
This optimism is further enhanced by the fact that the Bank of England have assured the public that interest rates are unlikely to increase for at least another year – despite the threshold of 7% unemployment being on the horizon. The Bank of England has stated that they want to encourage recovery before interest rates begin to rise once more. This has to be good news for any business wishing to expand.
With more lending coming from banks, an improving housing and construction sector, a rosier manufacturing sector and improvement in employment, it does seem as though it is the perfect time to take the plunge and see what jobs are available in the taxation recruitment market.