Pictured above: (l-r) Charlene Bennett, Jackie Humphrys, Laura Smith, Liz Seaton, Sarah Smith, Eloise Shelton, Sophie Rice, Kathy Bakewell and Paul Turner

An employment survey carried out across the Market Harborough, Lutterworth and Corby regions by a local recruitment company has revealed a better than expected picture of employment trends for the quarter up to June 2011. In fact, the survey results revealed that employment prospects in the area are actually brighter than the UK national average.

Vanilla Recruitment, based in Market Harborough carried out the survey last month (May) to find out about employment patterns and trends in the area - and  the staff there were pleasantly surprised by the results.

The survey found that 15% of employers in the region were expecting to increase the number of staff they employed; with only 6% anticipating that they would need to reduce their overall staff numbers. The picture in Market Harborough itself was even more optimistic, with 18% forecasting a rise in the numbers that they employed. Some companies also reported skills shortages within certain areas. These figures compared favourably with the quarterly national survey conducted by Manpower which showed that 10% of employers were expecting to increase employment with 8% forecasting a decrease.

Eloise Shelton, Managing Director of Vanilla Recruitment is delighted by the results. "These figures are really encouraging for people in the local area, and bear out our own current experience in the recruitment market. With Corby's regeneration scheme and Harborough district's relative affluence, the area seems to have weathered the economic troubles better than many. I do have concerns over youth unemployment and the number of part time roles that are slightly disguising the overall numbers in work, but overall it is good picture for employment in our region." 

Set up in 2005 by Harborough born recruitment expert Eloise, Vanilla specialise in commercial office based recruitment, including accounts, administration, call centre, sales and marketing and legal as well as industrial and technical sectors. The company provides recruitment services to businesses across Leicestershire and Northamptonshire.